Boko Haram: Zulum visits Gubio village where 81 died, village head, 6 others abducted

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, on Wednesday, travelled to Faduma Kolomdi village in Gubio local government area, a scene of a deadly attack by Boko Haram.

Faduma Kolomdi, which is a nomadic village, is located 35 kilometres in the north of Gubio, the headquarters of Gubio local Government area.

A survivor told Zulum that 81 residents were killed during the attack on Tuesday with 13 persons injured and seven others, including village head was abducted.

While sympathizing with the the people over the attack, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum urged the Nigerian military to undertake a final onslaught that should put an end the insurgents in the shore of the lake Chad.

Zulum described the attack as barbaric and unfortunate. He evacuated five injured persons in his convoy, for treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

“Last year, about same number of people were killed in Gajiram like it happened again. This is barbaric. It is very unfortunate. The only solution to end this massacre is by dislodging the insurgents in the shores of Lake Chad. Doing so will require collaborative regional efforts” Zulum said.

A male adult described as the only one who escaped the attack (name withheld for protection) gave account during Zulum’s visit.

“The insurgents in gun trucks and armored tanks, came around 10am yesterday (Tuesday).  They operated for about six hours and left around 4pm.  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. The insurgents pretended as if they were there for any violence. Suddenly, they started shooting at will. Even children and women were not spared, many were shot at close range. Many started running. At the end end, many persons were killed. have been burying people since from 10:00pm last night to about 6am this morning. We have buried 49 corpses here while another 32 corpses were taken away by families from the villages around us. The insurgents abducted seven persons including our village head. They went away with 400 cattle” he said.

A resident from a neighboring village corroborated what Zulum was told by the survivor.

There were fears amongst residents of neighboring villages, that the casualties could be higher than 81 since tracing was ongoing.