Local reporters in Northeastern Nigeria have said that 47 people have been killed by both Boko Haram militants and armed cattle robbers over the weekend.

Thirty people were killed and several houses burnt down on Sunday in an attack carried out by the Fulani community in the village of Galadima in Zamfara State. Police spokesman in the area told reporters that the attackers were armed cattle rustlers who targeted a meeting of community leaders and vigilante groups in the village.

The community leaders were said to be meeting to find solution to the frequent cattle robbing in the area when the attacker stormed the village. The police further said it has sent a team of police personnel to the area to calm the situation.

Fulani herdsmen and farmers from other ethnic groups have frequently clashed in the area over land and cattle related issues.

At least 100 villagers were killed in central Kaduna state last month in an attack that was also linked to a dispute between local farmers and the semi-nomadic Fulani herdsmen. The Fulani people are cattle headers.

In the second attack which happened on Saturday, Boko Harm militants attacked a remote village of Buni Gari in Yobe State, killing 17 people including five who were worshipping in a mosque.

The Reuters African Service quoted a witness as saying that dozens of Boko Haram fighters surrounded the village, shooting residents and setting shops and houses ablaze.

“There were too many of them to count. They were shouting ‘God is Great, people were praying in the mosque and they surrounded it and killed them,” the witness said.

Another witness also said he cannot take it anymore and he is fleeing the village with all his family to somewhere.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates that Some 250,000 people have fled their homes this year alone because of Boko Haram attacks.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in 3 northern states on May 14 last year, and deployed thousands of troops to halt the insurgency, acknowledging that Boko Haram had taken control of some towns and villages in the north.

Nigeria’s security is deteriorating as barely a week passes without Boko Haram militants or any other violence claim innocent lives in the country.

Many political analysts in Nigeria have accused President Jonathan of handling the Boko Haram crisis poorly. They say the army is poorly equipped to engage Boko Haram, making Boko Haram always gaining the upper hand over the military.

Political analysts say it is the biggest security threat in Nigeria and the rest of Africa if nothing is done by the international community. Boko Haram has killed more than 5,000 people since it began its militancy in 2009.

Both the UK and United States have blacklisted Boko Haram as a terrorist organization making their laws and regulatory agencies to block business and financial transactions with Boko Haram.

The French and the US governments have all pledged to help Nigeria put the brakes on Boko Haram but nothing substantial has come out of the pledge as civilians continue to die day in and day out.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com

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