Gunmen kill 15 at a local market in Borno

Fifteen people, including traders and customers, were killed yesterday by suspected members of Boko Haram who stormed a local market in Daku village of Askira Uba Local Government Area in southern part of Borno state.

It was a market day and people from neighbouring villages have gathered at the local market when the insurgents laid siege, survivors said.

Scores of people escaped with bullet wounds while dozens of shops, stalls, houses, vehicles, motorcycles and assorted foodstuff were set ablaze by the rampaging attackers, who reportedly surrounded the village with sophisticated weapons and petrol bombs.

A trader, Zaka Sama’ila said the attack came as a surprise because it was the first of its kind in the area.

“It seems the terrorists are extending their frontiers every day. About 20 of them stormed the market arena around 11.15 am with one Hilux vehicle and some motorcycles. There was serious pandemonium because they shot randomly, forcing unsuspecting people in the market to scamper for safety.

“When they left after carting away assorted food items and money, 15 corpses were found in the market which has been reduced to ashes,” he said.

There was no officials statement from the police and 7 Division of the Nigerian Army on the latest attack.

Askira and Uba, two towns at the border between Borno and Adamawa States are also close to Chibok, Gwoza and Hawul local government areas of Borno State where hundreds of communities have been sacked by the Boko Haram insurgetns.

Locals believe that the insurgents are living in the nearby Sambisa Forest and the Mandara mountains and alleged that Nigerian troops are yet to penetrate the areas.