Gov Shettima Weeps As Borno Buries Boko Haram Attack Victims

Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima wept Wednesday as he watched 33 bodies of victims who were killed in Konduga, Borno State, on Tuesday by suspected Boko Haram insurgents, being interred.

18 bodies were said to have been buried before the governor’s arrival, at a ward in Madarari, while two other corpses were seen lying unattended to on the streets when the governor toured the town.

Residents were also seen fleeing the town with their belongings.

About 80 per cent of buildings in the town was razed by the insurgents during the attack. Over 100 residents were also allegedly killed in the early evening siege.

They were also alleged to have abducted 25 teenage girls from the town in the siege that went on for four hours between 4 pm and 8 pm.

The insurgents numbering over 200, according to eyewitnesses, stormed the town in 39 Toyota Hilux vehicles, armed with sophisticated weapons which included rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), assault riffles and explosive devices.

The residents of the town, who claimed that the soldiers and the volunteer youth vigilante group were overpowered by the insurgents, lamented that they were left at the mercy of the assailants who killed at will and destroyed their houses with explosives.

One Alhaji Ibrahim, who spoke to journalists said, goods were burnt at the market as the shops were attacked with explosives.

Ibrahim said the insurgents came at around 4 pm, adding: “We saw so many vehicles coming, the soldiers exchanged fire with them, but they (soldiers) later fled when they were overpowered. The Civilian JTF was also overpowered and we were left at the mercy of the assailants.”

He claimed that over 100 people were killed with many corpses still lying in bushes unattended to, as several residents were preoccupied with fleeing the town.

He also disclosed that the insurgents were dressed in military camouflage but were veiled in turbans which differentiated them from the soldiers who wore helmets.

Governor Shettima, who led a large delegation of his aides and commissioners to the town could not control his emotions, as he burst into tears during the prayer for the bodies that were being interred at the partially destroyed central mosque.

He later ordered that food items be immediately brought to feed the people.

He directed his Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to release N100 million for the purchase of building materials and food items.

“Security or no security, I am ready to stay with my people. Whoever wishes to go anywhere can do that but I will remain with Borno people and share their pain.

“Nobody should bring the suggestion that any part of the state is not safe for me to go to. I am ready to face the problem with my people and together we will find solution to it. Whatever resources it will take to build the houses, I will spend it,” said Shettima.

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