Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has said that 81 people were killed and 13 others injured at Faduma Kolomdi village on Tuesday.
The nomadic village is 120 kilometres north of Maiduguri, the state capital.
The terrorists suspected to be Boko Haram, after the mayhem, abducted the village head, six others and rustled 400 cows.
Zulum disclosed this yesterday when he visited Faduma Kolomdi in Gubio Council to condole with the community over the loss.
A survivor confirmed the figure to the governor.
The governor urged the military to decimate the terrorists on shores of Lake Chad, describing the attack as barbaric and unfortunate.
A resident of Faduma Kolomdi, who witnessed the attack, said during governor’s visit, “The Boko Haram terrorists in gun trucks and armoured tanks came around 10 a.m. on Tuesday. They operated for about six hours and left around 4 p.m.
“They gathered us and said they wanted to deliver religious sermon to us. They asked us to submit whatever arm we had. Some villagers gave up their dane guns, bow and arrows.”
According to him, suddenly, the insurgents started shooting into various directions.
“We have buried 49 corpses here, while another 32 corpses were taken away by families from the villages around us.
“They abducted seven persons including our village head. They went away with 400 cows.”
Similarly , more than 60 people, including women and children, have reportedly been killed by ravaging bandits in communities in Faskari and Sabuwa councils of Katsina State.
Some of the tragic incidents, The Guardian learnt, occurred Tuesday evening, while others took place in the wee hours of yesterday.
In Faskari, the communities affected include Kadisau where more than 30 people were reportedly killed, Kabalawa with nine dead, Kwakware (five), Unguwar Wahabi (three), and Raudama (one).
Over 100 bandits on motorcycles stormed Kadisau village in the evening, while residents preparing for prayers. The bandits reportedly raped several women in the area, razed houses and food stores, while domestic animals were rustled.
Sources told The Guardian that the village became a ghost town after the incident, as most residents fled to the council headquarters, or elsewhere, in fear.
Former chairman of the council, Hassan Mohammed, said more than 30 people were killed and that more corpses were being discovered in the bushes.
Mohammed, who is Personal Assistant to the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Umar Tsauri, said a security guard at a school recently constructed by the state government was shot dead during the incident.
He said five more corpses were evacuated yesterday morning from the hospital, even as several others are in critical condition at the hospital.
“In Kwakware, five people lost their lives, while three were killed in Unguwar Wahabi. The bandits also killed one person in Raudama, nine in Kabalawa. Most of the victims were from Kadisau village where more than 32 people lost their lives.
“I was told that two bodies were recovered from the Fadama (irrigation farm) and security at the newly-built school by government, was also killed,” he said.
Mohammed, however, called on the government to intervene by ending banditry in the area.
The victims were buried yesterday morning according to Islamic rites, our reporter learnt.
In a related development, bandits killed 10 people in Sabuwa Council.
The lawmaker representing the area in the House of Assembly, Ibrahim Michika, made this known yesterday in a chat.
Michika said the bandits attacked seven communities, including Yankaka, Unguwan Dauda, Gauji, Taura, Unguwan Nakaba and Ibichi, without any resistance from security agents or the people.
“At Yankara, they shot five people, one died while four have been hospitalised. In Unguwan Dauda, they killed one person and set two vehicles ablaze. They also set a vehicle on fire in Tashar Labbo.”
The lawmaker, however, lamented that despite efforts to contact security agents, no help came while the bandits operated.
