Dozens killed in Nigeria in suspected Boko Haram attack

SUSPECTED members of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram have killed at least 69 people in Nigeria, residents said.

It has been claimed the attack in Foduma Kolomaiya, a village in the Gubio area of Borno state, was probably in retaliation for resistance against an assault weeks earlier.

“They came on motorcycles and vehicles and killed people at will in an attack that lasted more than two hours,” said Rabiu Isa, a member of a local defence force.

“In all, we counted 69 corpses, but the death toll may be higher because some people are still missing.”

A leader of the local defence group, Malam Bunu, said the fighters returned to kill a herdsman who had escaped the massacre.

“They set the entire village ablaze before they left,” Mr Bunu said. “As I am talking to you now, the village is still smoking.”

Gubio lies nearly 62 miles northwest of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. Residents are mostly herders who have resisted Boko Haram hostilities over the years.