Sunday, July 27, 2014

Gunmen Kill 30 in Adamawa
File photo of Adamawa violence from Feb. 2014.
by INUSA NDAHI AND LIVINUS MENEDI
Nigerian National Mirror
Jul 28, 2014

Gunmen, believed to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, have unleashed mayhem on some communities in Adamawa State, with 30 feared killed in the attacks.

The attacks occurred in Zar, Mubeng and Lubeng in Hong Local Government Area of the state.

Residents of Zar said the attack on the community, which claimed the lives of nine people, occurred in the wee hours of yesterday.

According to reports, the whereabouts of a retired wing commander, Dauda Daniel, leader of one of the hamlets in the area, is still unknown following the attack on Zar community.

Relatives of Daniel said the community leader was yet to be found, heightening concerns that he might have been abducted by the gunmen.

The worst affected community is Mubeng, where our correspondent gathered that 20 persons were killed by the marauders.

One of the villagers, who fled the community as a result of the attacks, said the figure of those killed in Lubeng was yet to be ascertained.

The escapee-eyewitness, who identified himself as Lazarus, said residents scampered to safety before the rampaging gunmen got to their village.

He suspected that the victims would be children and the aged, who could not make it to a safe location before the invaders got to the community.

The State Police Command could not confirm or deny the incident because of the recent reshufflement effected in the command with the appointment of Assistant Superintendent of Police, Haa Michael, as the spokesman.

Michael said that although the command was aware of the alleged attack in the Hong area, it was yet to receive the details.

Last week, 13 persons were killed in Gaya community.

Meanwhile, two people suspected to be among the displaced persons from Damboa were at the weekend killed by gunmen suspected to be members of the deadly sect.

They were believed to be among those taking refuge in Shaffa District in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State.

Sources in Shaffa told our correspondent that the incident took place on Saturday night when residents were asleep.

The attackers also went away with two pick-kup vans belonging to the residents.

A source said the attackers, after killing their victims, warned residents, including the traditional ruler to stop accommodating any Damboa refugee or risk deadly attack.

Speaking on the attack, a top politician from Shaffa, who did not want his name mentioned, told our correspondent that the gunmen did not touch residents of the community.

He said that they only traced the whereabouts of their victims and killed them after which gunshots were fired into the air, warning people, especially the traditional ruler to stop receiving or accommodating anybody from Damboa.

It was also gathered that the gunmen before fleeing Shaffa told residents that they (terrorists) had vowed to hunt any fleeing Damboa refugee and kill them, alleging that the people were their enemies, who were against their mission.

Efforts to contact the Police Public Relations Officer, Gideon Jubrin, were unsuccessful at press time, but a reliable security source confirmed the incident.

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