Civilian JTF kills 40 Bok o Haram insurgents in Borno

By Sadiq Abubakar
Maiduguri

ABOUT forty gunmen suspected to be members of  Boko Haram were slaughtered and their heads were hung on sticks by the Civilian TJF, the vigilante group of Biu town of Biu local government area of Borno state weekend in an ambush along Gur-Biu road.
A member of the  group in the area, Bwala Mshelia, told Blueprint in Maiduguri  that when the hints of the activities of the boko haram insurgents in Damboa reached the vigilante group in Biu and attack in Gur village, the vigilante group mobilized themselves when the failed attack on Sabon Gari in Damboa Local Government Area, a combined team of military men and members of the vigilance, went after the boko haram insurgents, ambushed them and slaughtered 40 of them.
According to him, the  insurgents were pursued from Sabon Gari. The vigilante group moved to Gur area around Mandafuma village, in Biu Local government area, where they engaged the sect members in a serious battle which lasted for about two hours.
He said after the clash, 40 members of the sect were killed and many injured.
Bwala said: “In order to prove to the people that the  insurgents were killed, the vigilance youths decided to behead them and brought their heads to Biu town  and hanged the heads on sticks.
“The vigilance group slaughtered the boko haram insurgents’ heads after exchange of fire and took their heads to Biu town to show to the people that the Boko Haram insurgents indicating that the boko haram terrorists are human beings not ghosts or some beasts”.
“People should  not  panic or be afraid  but to join in the crusade against terrorism by supporting the security operatives to fight the insurgents towards ensuring that the Boko Haram.
“We heard that the insurgents went to attack Sabon Gari, where people were just returning to their homes after three months of exile as internally displaced persons in various camps across the state. We went after them to foil the planned attack.
“We were able to repel them and on noticing that the insurgents were heading to Mandafuma villaqge in Biu local government, we decided to go after them and we were able to ambush them at Gur village where we engaged them in fierce gun battle along with the military operatives and 40 of them were killed, many injured and one of them was arrested.”