Eight persons, including a lecturer at the College of Education, Waka, Biu Local Government Area of Borno State (names withheld) were, yesterday, slaughtered by suspected Boko Haram members.
They were suspected to have invaded the town after escaping from their camps in Sambisa and other camps in Borno and Yobe states, during the military raid.
It was learnt that the killing took place around the popular Kadafur Cinema area and other wards where a lecturer at the Waka College of Education, who was also an Islamic cleric, three members of a family and four others were slaughtered.
Meanwhile, the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Kano is considering floating a civilian JTF outfit to complement efforts by security agents to police Sabon Gari, a predominantly Christian quarters that had witnessed terrorist attack recently.
Briefing journalists in Kano, Chairman, Kano chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Tobias Idika, explained that the option had become “very viable in the light of increased activities of terrorists in the densely populated quarters.
Idika said that the “option of taking up our collective security through civilian JTF, is long overdue to set an example on how members of the guest community can best come together to confront a national question threatening the fabric of the nation.
“Residents of Sabon Gari have been the target of attacks by the extremist group since they struck January 20, 2012.
“The motor park bombing last March, with its attendant devastation, is still fresh in our mind and the question left unanswered is ‘for how long would members of the guest community continue to lose its productive population?”
Borno Deputy Governor reacts
Last Tuesday, Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, who is also from Biu Local Government Area in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri, lamented the increasing killing of innocent people in Biu.
He said the state government was not interested in the restoration of GSM network in the state for now as doing so will jeopardise the relative peace being enjoyed in the state.
A reliable source, who just arrived Maiduguri from the troubled town, said: “Biu is no longer safe. There were pockets of killings by suspected Boko Haram sect in the last few days.
“In fact, most of the killings were targeted at school teachers and Islamic clerics, and the most unfortunate thing is that the terrorists have devised a means of using knives to slaughter their targets, as using gunshots will attract security agencies.”
It was gathered that military task force has been deployed to the streets of the town to ensure safety of lives and property, even as some volunteered youths have offered to assist the security agencies in apprehending those perpetrating such act.
JTF spokesman, Lt-Col Sagir Musa, could not be reached at time due to lack of telecommunication services in the area. -Vanguard
