attack on Izghe Gwoza Local
Government Area of Borno State has
risen to 146 with the recovering of 40
corpses in nearby bushes.
The Agence France Presse had quoted
the lawmaker representing the area in
the Senate, Ali Ndume, as saying on
Sunday that 106 people lost their lives
when members of the sect laid a five-
hour siege to the village which is largely
populated by Christians.
But on Monday, some residents who
were seen salvaging some of their
property, claimed that they found many
bodies with gunshot wounds and
machete cuts.
"We recovered about 40 bodies in the
bushes here (Izghe). Some of them had
deep machete cuts and wounds that
must have been as a result of
gunshots," one of them, who gave his
name simply as Usman, said.
Usman, who lamented the level of
destruction wreaked on the village,
called for an end to the incessant
attacks by the insurgents and for the
Federal and Borno State governments to
urgently provide them with relief
materials.
Our correspondent in Borno State
reported that most of the recovered
bodies were given mass burial by the
survivors, who summoned courage to
stay back in the almost deserted village.
A protocol officer attached to the
Governor's office told journalists that
Shettima would "be visiting the place
(Izghe) on Tuesday(today)."
Meanwhile, the National Emergency
Management Agency has despatched a
strong team from its headquarters in
Abuja to Maiduguri to complement
the efforts of its officials in the North-
East zone.
The Director General of the agency,
Alhaji Muhammad Sidi, according to a
statement, has directed the agency's
Director, Search and Rescue, Air
Commodore Charles Otegbade, to head
for Maiduguri to supervise the
provision of materials to the victims
of attacks in the area.
The statement by the agency's
North-East Zonal Information Officer,
Abdulkadir Ibrahim, reads "In response
to the rising tide of attacks around
border communities in the North-East,
the DG of NEMA has despatched the
Director Search and Rescue of the
Agency with additional members of
staff from the Abuja head office to
complement the efforts of the officials
of the North- East zonal office, who have
been working round the clock providing
relief assistance to the internally
displaced persons affected by the
incidents.
"Within the last two weeks, camps
have been created in schools and other
secured locations in Alau, Kawuri,
Konduga and Bama communities to
cater for the IDPS.
"As the situation improves, more
camps are expected to be created to
cater for more people.
"The Zonal Coordinator of the agency
in the North-East, Alhaji Muhammed
Kanar, with members of staff of the
zonal office and other stakeholders in
emergency management like Red Cross
and the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps,
has been working hand in hand to
provide succour to those affected by the
attacks."
The Defence Headquarters has
however appealed to Nigerians to
exercise patience with the military as it
intensifies efforts to rid the North-East
of insurgents.
It said in Abuja on Monday that it had
stepped up aerial and land patrol
activities in the hills and forests in the
troubled Borno State.
The Director of Defence Information,
Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said in an
electronic mail, that the security
operatives would not relent in their
efforts to wipe out the insurgents.
The Defence spokesman said that while
the military was fortifying areas that
could come under attack, efforts were
on to increase surveillance and patrol
activities in such places.
He said that some of the insurgents,
who carried out the repeated killings in
unprotected communities in Borno
State had been apprehended and
weapons recovered from them.
But Olukolade was silent on the
number of arrests and types of the
recovered items.
He said, "The ongoing onslaught against
terrorists in some parts of the country
will not be deterred by the unfortunate
attacks being carried out against troops
and innocent civilians by the insurgents.
"The terrorists who move from village
to village attacking innocent civilians are
those escaping from the onslaught
against their makeshift hideout along
the border and entry point from
neighbouring countries.
"The fighting patrols by air and land are
being stepped up in the forests and hills
of the affected areas and other parts of
the North-East where the Boko Haram
terrorists are hiding.
"The security forces will continue to
employ necessary fire power to enhance
the effectiveness of the mission until
the terrorists are duly curtailed.
"Meanwhile, locations that are prone to
attacks are being reinforced while the
general area is now under heightened
surveillance and patrols.
"Some suspected perpetrators of the
recent assaults have been apprehended
and weapons recovered from them.
Olukolade appealed to the indigenes of
the affected communities to volunteer
information that could be used to track
the fleeing terrorists.
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