Massacre in Yobe

•10 soldiers, 14 policemen, scores of terrorists killed
From TIMOTHY OLANREWAJU, Maiduguri
For about two hours on Monday, Boko Haram invaded Buni Yadi headquarters of Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, and at the end of the battle, no fewer than 10 soldiers, 14 policemen and scores of insurgents were killed. Time of attack was 5pm. They came in many Toyota Hilux vehicles.
“The Boko Haram terrorists did not come in a convoy. I suspect they divided themselves into groups and entered the town from different areas so as not to raise suspicion about their plan,” a resident of Buni Yadi, who did not want to be named, told Daily Sun. He said the insurgents used Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), adding that soldiers and policemen on guard made effort to repel the attack. He disclosed that the bombardment was unprecedented, as residents had to run for their safety.
A resident of Damaturu, Emma Ojo, who was in Buni Yadi on Monday on a business trip, said he almost ran into the insurgents, save for divine intervention. “They were heavily armed with rounds of bullets on their waists. They were throwing bombs into the Divisional police station. I was riding on a Keke NAPEP (tricycle) and the cyclist was the first to tell me, these are Boko Haram people. We reversed immediately and headed towards a street where I alighted and fled. Terrified, I spent the night in a friend’s house though we couldn’t sleep,” he disclosed.
A police source in Damaturu confirmed 14 of his colleagues and 10 soldiers died in the attack. He described the incident as unfortunate, saying the slain securitymen “have secured the area for some time despite threats of attack.” He, however, said the troops also succeeded in killing many of the insurgents even as he stated that they fled with the corpses of their colleagues “as they often do.”
Residents said the attackers set ablaze a magistrate court, the Divisional police station and the official residence of the District Head, Alhaji Abba Hassan Muktar, while the palace of the Emir, Alhaji Muktar Ali Gangaran, was vandalised. They noted that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) may have died in the attack. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Markus Danaladi and the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Nansak Chegwam, confirmed the attack to journalists in Damaturu, but did not give further details.
The Monday attack was the third in eight months. In September 2013, over 50 students of Federal Government College, located in the outskirts of the town were killed by Boko Haram who invaded the school in the night, forcing the authorities to shut down all unity schools in the three northeastern states of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno, stronghold of Boko Haram insurgency.
Meanwhile, eight people have been killed in an attack on Chinene, Gwoza Local Government, a border community in Borno State by Boko Haram.
The attack, according to sources, also occurred on Monday when some Boko Haram insurgents on motorcycles unleashed terror on the village, killing at least eight people. “They also burnt two churches,” an indigene of the area told Daily Sun in Maiduguri.
Chinene is a predominant Christian community located on the Nigeria-Cameroon border, southeast of Borno. The area has been under severe attacks by Boko Haram as killing and destruction have become a regular occurrence in the area.