It was another bloody day, Tuesday, as Boko Haram gunmen wrecked havoc in Konduga town in Borno State, in a 1o-hour siege which left over 53 persons.
Eyewitnesses said the insurgents stormed the town at 4pm, Tuesday in 39 Toyota Hilux vehicles, armed with sophisticated weapons including rocket propelled grenades (RPGS), assault rifles and explosive devices and ended their terror campaign 2am on Wednesday.
The gunmen, according to the Vice Chairman, Civilian JTF, Tijjani Peter, bombed the palace of the District Head of Konduga, Alhaji Zanna Masu Yale, the central mosque, razed shops and 50 vehicles, before displacing thousands of residents after abducting some of them, mostly youth and women, including students of Government Girls Secondary School, Konduga.
The gunmen also attacked the only hospital in the town carted away drugs and medical equipment and abducted a medical doctor.
Tijjani admitted that “we had a prior knowledge about three days ago that some terrorists were sighted by residents in a nearby bush of Konduga, but it is unfortunate that after alerting the security operatives, no action was taken.
“It was only yesterday that we started hearing sounds of gunshots and explosives at about 4pm, we tried our best to repel the attackers as three of them were killed by my colleagues, but they later overpowered us, killing many residents.
“In fact, the casualty figure could have been worse than this, but many residents were alerted that the town will be attacked in which many of us ran into the bush to hide. We only left the aged and underaged with some of us, but all to no avail,” he stated.
Tijjani, however, said “at about 7pm when the air force jet arrived in the town, the terrorists went into hiding inside the town where the sounds of gunshots and bombing subsided, but when the airstrike stopped, the terrorists resurfaced at about 8pm and wreaked havoc till 2am on Wednesday.
The Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, who visited the town on Wednesday, broke down in tears during the funeral prayer organised for 33 victims of the attack.
It was learnt that few hours before Shettima’s arrival at the town, 18 corpses had already been buried at the Madarari area of Konduga.
Residents were also seen fleeing the troubled town when the governor visited.