Governor Shettima promised he would help the people to rebuild the town and all the homes that were destroyed, and appealed to them to remain in their homes in view of the adequate security has been provided to prevent any recurrence.
Gubio, located about 84 kilometers north of Maiduguri, the state capital.
Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, today appealed to the people of the ancient town of Borno not to abandon the area following last Saturday’s Boko Haram attack in which 35 persons were killed.
He made the appeal during a visit to Gubio town, in Gubio Local Government Area, assuring them that security has been strengthened to safeguard the area against future attacks.
Boko Haram arrived in six utility utilities vehicles at about 5:30pm on Saturday, residents said, and killed over 35 residents.
A leader of the “civilian Joint Task Force” in Gubio told SaharaReporters that the facilities destroyed during the attack which lasted more than five hours included eight mosques, four schools including an Islamic school; the local government secretariat, 22 vehicles; tens of motorbikes, and over 400 homes.
''We were playing football around 04:30pm when we suddenly started hearing gunshots and there was confusion all over the town, everybody was running,” Alhaji Bukar Mondama said. “The civilian JTF tried their best but there was no weaponry.''
According to him, “They killed 37 civilians including two little boys and (inflicted many) injuries; they took their time to select good homes also the vehicles [which were] parked were set ablaze so that we would not able to pursue them.”
Our reporter learnt that all the mosques in Gubio town, as well as schools and public buildings, were set ablaze.
Another member of the “civilian JTF,” Yusuf Modu Gubio, said he exchanged gunshots with the attackers and killed some of them but was surprised to find they were young teens, some of them dressed in army uniforms and driving military vehicles.
“They were roaming the streets without anyone challenging them,” he lamented.
Governor Shettima promised he would help the people to rebuild the town and all the homes that were destroyed, and appealed to them to remain in their homes in view of the adequate security has been provided to prevent any recurrence.
Gubio, located about 84 kilometers north of Maiduguri, the state capital.