Assault survivor puts death toll at nearly 90 amid deteriorating security in Yobe state
September 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Nigerian authorities have put the number of people killed in an attack on a town in Yobe state in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday by suspected members of the jihadist group Boko Haram at around 35, although survivors of the attack have put the death toll at around 90.
The Yobe government said a total of 34 people were killed in the attack on Mafa — located near Shekau, the hometown of former Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau — adding that all of them were buried on Tuesday in Babangida.
Dahiru Abdulsalam, security adviser to Yobe Governor Mala Buni, told Nigerian news agency NAN that five other people were injured, including four in critical condition.
“The insurgents are not fighting the army. They are fighting innocent civilians who are soft targets,” he stressed. Authorities have already announced compensation payments to the families of the victims of the attack, amid insecurity in northeastern Nigeria.
However, one of the survivors of the attack in Mafa told Nigerian daily Vanguard that after the attackers retreated, residents “counted around 87 bodies.” “Thirty-seven bodies were recovered, while 50 decomposing bodies remain in Mafa for burial,” he said.
Nigerian authorities use the name Boko Haram to refer interchangeably to Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA). Yobe and other states in northeastern Nigeria have been the epicentre of a humanitarian and security crisis for years due to the actions of these groups, although insecurity has spread to other parts of the country in recent months.
Add Comment