8 civilians among Maiduguri attack victims –Official

No fewer than eight civilians were among those killed in last Friday attack in Maiduguri, Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents, Chairman of the State Special Emergency Relief Committee, Bulama Mali Gubio has disclosed.

In an interview with  journalists yesterday in Maiduguri after the distribution of relief materials to victims of the attack at Giwa Barracks of the 21 Armoured Brigade and some communities including Fori, Koreri, Wadia and Gambori villages, Gubio said the committee got the casualty figure from the affected communities.

“From what we gathered from affected communities, eight people died. These were not included in the number of insurgents killed, these are civilians. Some of those wounded are still in the hospital. In terms of material loss, it was colossal but the casualty was not as high as we thought, judging from over three hours of bombardment that took place,” he stated.

He, however, said each person killed in the attack was a big loss to the state and its government, adding that the committee was directed by the state governor to re-settle the affected communities.

 “What we are doing now is to distribute food items and non-food items to the victims and the affected communities at least to address their immediate needs. We are not going to put the people in camps as is often the case because most of them are not used to such life and unwanted persons could infiltrate them. The state government will later rebuild their burnt houses,” he explained.

Boko Haram insurgents invaded Giwa Barrack on Friday, last week, freed some detainees and attempted to destroy the barracks but the attack was repelled by soldiers in collaboration with youth volunteers.

Confronted by air bombardment and ground assault by the military, some of the insurgents fled through the communities behind the barracks. Residents of Fori, Koreri, Wadia and Gambori said the insurgents burnt down their houses and killed their people before fleeing.

Trucks of foodstuffs, clothes, cooking utensils and N1 million were distributed to each of the affected communities. The Brigade Commander of the 21 Armoured Brigade represented by the Chief of Staff, Col. John Ekperene thanked the Borno State Government for the gesture, promising that the relief would be distributed to the victims including civilians residing in the barracks.