At Least 80 People Killed By Boko Haram Attacks In Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria

Event Summary:

At least 80 people have been reported killed following the overnight attacks on Sunday 31^st January in Maiduguri in North Eastern Nigeria by the self-declared Islamic State Caliphate in West Africa, Boko Haram. The militants killed residents of the villages indiscriminately including children and women.

Summary:

An attack in the outskirt villages of Maiduguri (the birth place of Boko Haram) by the militanst has left at least 80 people dead including children and women. The attack occurred after a large gang of Boko Haram militants attacked villages and camps that house at least 25,000 refugees and lasted for hours.

According to eye witnesses accounts the Boko Haram used firebombs on huts of the villages among them Dalori village and later shot at the residents indiscriminately. The shooting and fire bombs were orchestrated by three suicide bombers after which attackers moved on to other villages.

At least 62 victims are nursing serious burn and bullet injuries incurred in the attack which was later averted by the Nigerian military operating in the area. The attack comes just a day after a twin bomb attack killed 15 in Adamwa state.

Boko Haram swore allegiance to ISIS in 2015 and has committed more violent atrocities than ISIS itself according to rights groups however the Nigerian military and the Joint task force has made significant gains against them with most of their suppliers arrested.

The recent AU Summit whose major focus was on counterterrorism measures and which Nigeria’s President Buhari attended laid fresh strategies and adequate groundwork to ensure that all terror organizations among them ISIS, Al Shabaab, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram re defeated by all means necessary. The same sentiments were echoed by Buhari’s Kenyan Counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta in bilateral talks held in Nairobi that pledged increased cooperation to fight terrorism by both countries.