Borno Massacre: Gov. Shettima to Visit the Place of Tragedy, as Death Toll Rises Significantly

The death toll in Saturday’s Boko Haram attack on Izghe Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State has risen to 146 with the recovering of 40 corpses in nearby bushes.

The previous official figure was announced by the lawmaker representing the area in the Senate, Ali Ndume, and amounted to 106 people. All of them died as the result of Boko Haram siege on the area, mainly populated with Christians.

However, new reports on February 17, 2014, Monday, revealed that more bodies have been found with gunshot wounds and machete cuts

“We recovered about 40 bodies in the bushes here (Izghe). Some of them had deep machete cuts and wounds that must have been as a result of gunshots,” one of the residents, who introduced himself as Usman, said.

He also lamented the level of destruction wreaked on the village, called for an end to the incessant attacks by the insurgents. The local also urged the Federal and Borno State governments to provide them with relief materials a.s.a.p.

According to The Punch, most of the recovered bodies were given mass burial by the survivors, who summoned courage to stay back in the almost deserted village.

It has been also learnt that Governor Shettima would be visiting the place (Izghe) of tragedy on February 18, 2014, Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency has despatched a strong team from its headquarters in Abuja to Maiduguri to complement the efforts of its officials in the North-East zone. More camps in schools and other secured locations are expected to be created to cater for more people.

The Defence Headquarters called on Nigerians to exercise patience with the military, as it intensifies efforts to get rid of the North-Eastern insurgents.

The Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said in an e-mail that the security operatives would not relent in their efforts to wipe out the insurgents. He confirmed that surveillance and patrol activities in troubled areas were intensified, multiple insurgents, who carried out the repeated killings in unprotected communities in Borno State had been apprehended and weapons recovered from them.

Gen. Olukolade further appealed to the indigenes of the affected communities to volunteer information that could be used to track the fleeing terrorists.