Militant strikes unsettle Nigeria

SCORES OF DEATHS IN LATEST HIT

Nigeria’s security agencies are concerned about the increasingly dire security situation in the northeast of the country as the death toll from Sunday’s deadly Boko Haram attack rises to more than 60 people, according to estimates.

Earlier media reports said at least 19 people were killed in the attack on the village of Mailari in the Guzamala region of Borno State on Sunday.

But aid workers who have dealt with survivors and collected bodies said the death toll could be as high as 63, Nigeria’s Premium Times reported.

The federal government finds reports coming from the area worrying, according to Minister of Defence Mansur Dan Ali, speaking following a meeting of security chiefs.

The meeting followed an earlier one on August 2 prior to President Muhmmadu Buhari departing for London on vacation.

During Monday’s meeting Buhari directed security chiefs to step up their game before reports reached the media that “absolute decisions” had been taken about how to deal with the security situation without any further details being provided.

In Zamfara and Benue states and in the Niger Delta, there has been some improvement in the security situation but in the northern states of of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, Boko Haram continues to carry out deadly attacks on both civilians and security forces. – ANA