SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, (THEWILL) – Boko Haram gunmen Wednesday night stormed Garubula village in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, killing a local chief and 11 other villagers.
Until his death, the local chief, Alhaji Ibrahim Dawi, was the District Head of the area.
Narrating the incident Thursday, a resident of the village, Mallam Idrisa Garubula, told THEWILL that the rampaging gunmen stormed the village at about 11.pm on Wednesday and started shooting sporadically as they unleashed terror on the village, with many villagers escaping into the surrounding bushes for safety.
Garubula said after the gunfire stopped, the District Head was found groaning on the ground with a gunshot wound on his forehead while 11 others were also found dead.
“The District Head was shot by the gunmen on his head and was however rushed to Biu General Hospital before he gave up the ghost.
“He was buried on Thursday morning according to Islamic rites in Biu, the headquarters of Biu Local Government Area of the state,” Garubula said.
Lamenting the helplessness of his people, he told THEWILL that: “The Federal Government should do something urgently before the terrorists take over the area. The terrorists have succeeded in sending away the people of Damboa and other communities of Madafuma, Mandaragirau in Biu Council Area, and if something is not done urgently, they would also sack our communities, which is not good for the nation, more especially during the rainy season when people are going to their farms.”
He also lamented the absence of security operatives in the area throughout the duration of the attack, saying this gave the insurgents the opportunity to operate freely.
And speaking on the condition of anonymity, another resident of the village, told THEWILL that: “The gunmen stormed the village in pick-up van and motorcycles and opened fire on the people sporadically, shooting the District Head on his head, killing him and 11 others.” He added that the District Head was rushed to Biu General hospital for treatment where he later died.
While calling on the Federal Government to act fast and end the insurgency before spreading to other parts of the country, he lamented that the five-year-old insurgency has really affected lives of innocent citizenry with property worth billions of naira destroyed.
The police and military command in the state could not be reached for comments at the time of filing this report.
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