Boko Haram Kills Six Civilian JTF In Borno State

Six members of the youth vigilance group (a.k.a. Civilian JTF) were yesterday killed in a border town in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents.
Sources said the youths were shot dead at about 1.30am yesterday at Damasak, headquaters of Mobbar Local Government in a house where they slept after the day’s business. They were said to have gone to the town, about 187 kilometres from Maiduguri to sell jewelleries on Monday, being the market day.

“They  decided to spend the night since it was late, but unknown to them, their assailants were close by. They were shot on the head and chest while sleeping,” a member of the Civilian JTF said.
Five of the victims were said to have chartered a cab belonging to one of their colleagues also killed by the insurgents. Emotion was high among friends and relatives of the deceased when their bodies were brought to Maiduguri yesterday through Baga Road. The names of the deceased were given as  Ismail Alhaji Bunu,36,Malam Goni,27, Buzu Bukar, 27, Mohammed Modu, 20, Aliyu Jibrin,30 and Bukar Bako,20.

A member of the group, Kariyama Mohammed, who also went to Damasak but did not sleep in the same house with the victims, said he learnt of the tragedy yesterday morning when they were supposed to return to Maiduguri.

“We travelled together to Damasak to trade in necklace but I did not sleep in the same house with them. It was in the morning that I learnt of their death.”
Sources said the assailants were four and had shot their victims dead “when they were fast asleep,” adding that there is no trace of their whereabouts yet.
Leader of the Civilian JTF on Baga Road, Bakura Adamu, expressed sadness over the incident, noting that the youths were members of the group who worked tirelessly to defend the state against the insurgents.

Damasak is located on the Nigeria-Niger border with high commercial activities especially jewelleries, clothes and gold. Security sources said many of the insurgents that fled their Karenuwa, Marte camp following the offensive by the Special Forces in the early days of the state of emergency, may have hid in some villages around the border areas