Local police in two North-Eastern States of Nigeria have confirmed the death of some 74 people in two villages attack by the fearful Boko Haram militants.
Police said militants first attacked Kawuri village as a busy market was rounding up their market activities, setting off explosives and setting houses ablaze. 52 people were killed in this attack with women being hit the most.
An eyewitness told reporters that gunmen planted explosive devices around the Kawuri village which also serves as a local market in the area.
“The gunmen were more than 50 in number, they were using explosives and heavy-sounding guns, no house was left standing’’, Ari Kolomi who fled the attack told reporters.
In a neighboring Adamawa State, 22 people were gun down in an attack on a church service in Waga Chakawa village. The residents were worshipping when they were attacked by Boko Haram. Dozens others also suffered severe injuries.
The militants set off bombs and fired into the congregation, killing 22 people, before burning houses and taking residents hostage during a four-hour siege, the Reuters African Service reported.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in 3 northern states on May 14, and deployed thousands of troops to halt the insurgency, acknowledging that militants had taken control of some towns and villages in the north.
But the president sacked his military high command earlier this month and gave no reason but political analysts say is because Boko Haram have been able to continue their bloody campaign despite the wide-ranging powers given to the military to tackle the insurgency last year.
Both the UK and United States have blacklist Boko Haram as a terrorist organization aimed at enforcing their laws and regulatory agencies to block business and financial transactions with Boko Haram.
Boko Haram is believed to have carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations since 2009 which have cost an estimate number of over 4,000 lives, saying it wants to establish an Islamic state across Nigeria.
Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News
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