Suspected Boko Haram terrorists launched a raid on Chibok village in Borno State on Tuesday night, leaving two villagers dead and sending residents fleeing for safety.
The attack which reportedly took place at 7 pm was said to have sent terrible fear through the headquarters of Chibok Local Government Area, prompting villagers to flee into nearby bushes for safety.
Sources within the community said the attackers invaded homes, looting food items before setting houses ablaze.
Witnesses recounted scenes of panic and fear as residents scrambled for cover in the nearby bushes. Many remained in hiding, fearing further attacks, according to a villager named Pona.
Pona, a witness to the attack, recounted that many who sought refuge in the bush had not returned as of noon on Wednesday.
“We lost two lives who died of gunshots during the attack,” he said.
The Borno State police confirmed the incident, stating that a joint response from the military and local law enforcement repelled the attack. However, two villagers, identified as Mr. Badi (75) and Ngule (45), were killed during the raid.
“The attack was repelled by the joint effort of the military and the police,” the state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Nahum Daso, said. “Unfortunately, two persons were killed; one of the deceased, named Mr. Badi, aged 75, and one Ngule, aged 45, died during the attack. But the situation has since returned to normal.”
Chibok and surrounding communities have been bearing the heavy brunt of periodic attacks by the Boko Haram terrorists despite their abduction of over 250 school girls in Chibok secondary school in 2014.
As of today, over 80 of the abducted school girls are still in the hands of the terrorists.
Although, over 160, 000 of the insurgents and family members have surrendered to troops at different locations in the North-East, the remnants of the terrorists still fighting had resorted to the looting of food and non-food items across villages to boost their dwindling fortunes due to the countermeasures adopted by the Nigerian military which is strangulating their economic base.
