BEVERLY HILLS, March 06, (THEWILL) – Rampaging Boko Haram insurgents Wednesday killed no fewer than nine persons in Shani, the headquarters of Shani Local Government Area of Borno state.
Shani is one of the major towns in the southern part of the state and lies about 240 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.
The town, according to local residents, has witnessed series of attacks in the past including the torching of its Divisional Police Headquarters.
A fleeing resident of the town, who craved anonymity, told THEWILL that the gunmen who stormed the town Wednesday operated in the area unhindered by security agents for several hours and wreaked untold hardship on the people.
According to him, the Boko Haram gunmen also injured several residents of the town as they destroyed many houses and vehicles in the council headquarters.
“They were equally alleged to have abducted several youths from the area,” he added, stressing that the youth vigilante group in the area called him to inform him of the incident.
According to him, “The insurgents came in large number and invaded the council at about 9pm on Wednesday, slaughtered their victims after destroying many houses and vehicles on the streets. Many people had fled the town for safety leaving only the aged people, sick ones and children who could not flee.”
Confirming the incident was a Police Officer at Shani Divisional Police Headquarters, who spoke on condition of anonymity, saying policemen, including him had to flee the town for safety as the Boko Haram gunmen were well armed and “it would be suicidal to confront them.”
According to him, “ there was deadly attack in Shani between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Nine people were slaughtered after destruction of property worth millions of naira by the insurgents. There was fierce and massive fighting and the pocket of policemen in the town could not just confront them.”
