Boko Haram guns down 9 villagers in Yobe

Villagers described how dozens of gunmen on motorbikes stormed Tadagara and Dunbulwa villages, 170 kilometres (100 miles) from Yobe state capital Damaturu, from Wednesday night through to the following morning.

The elders have said in a statement reported in AllAfrica news that if the claims were confirmed, they would be suing the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan for premeditated genocide against the people of the northeast Nigeria.

“They carted away food and jerry cans of fuel”.

“Boko Haram fighters in boats opened fire on our forces on the island of Tchoukou Dallah”.

The attacks forced hundreds of villagers to flee to the town of Potiskum, 70 kilometres away, according to residents there.

The former Chief of Air Staff also welcomed the renewed interest by the United States of America to assist Nigeria with weapons, maintaining that that the move will bring more sophistication to the fight against the terrorists.

The latest violence in the region comes just over two months after President Muhammadu Buhari took office vowing to crush the Islamist jihadists, now affiliated with the Islamic State group.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in countries around the lake in recent months in response to a regional offensive.

Boko Haram used to escalate its activity after periods of calm that came with successful large-scale operations carried out by the Nigerian army, so the change had demonstrated the group’s flexibility and adaptability.

Reyenieju, who is the Vice- Chairman of the African branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Union (CPU), argued that Badeh’s statement can not be ignored by the current top hierarchy of the armed forces, in view of the on-going court martial, including the sentences handed down on some soldiers for allegedly breaching military rules in the war against the Boko Haram terrorists.