Gunmen kill 4 in Borno, burn LG secretariat

Gunmen kill 4 in Borno, burn LG secretariat

Four people were killed on Friday evening in Damboa, a southern community in Borno State, in fresh attacks by suspected Boko Haram members. Also, a local government secretariat and a fire service station in the community were burnt during the attacks.

The incident occurred barely four hours after the killing of 79-year-old civil war veteran, Gen Mamman Shuwa in Maiduguri. Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members were said to have launched coordinated attacks on Damboa Local Government secretariat, a fire station and about 20 houses with improvised explosive devices at the weekend, leading to the death of four people. Sources said a fire service officer identified as Hassan Maina was shot dead in his office while Mallam Ndajara Ndahi, a personnel of Borno State High Court in Maiduguri who traveled to the town apparently to spend the weekend was also caught up in the ensuing confusion and died.

Residents said that the attackers came in four unmarked cars shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) before throwing explosives at the local government Secretariat and the housing estate within the town. Two of the security guards at the secretariat were said to have sustained injuries from gunshots. “We had to run for our lives as the shops and market stalls were hurriedly shut.

We ran to our houses for safety before men of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) and policemen rushed to the scene of the incident”, one Usman, a resident said. Borno State Police Public Relations Officer, Gideon Jubrin, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said he would furnish journalists with the details of the incident “as soon as the police Area Commander of Damboa sends in his report to the police headquarters.” He however said no arrests had been made. Damboa, about 87 kilometres south of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, had witnessed two attacks in April and August, this year.