By Sam Kayode
Twenty persons were feared killed by suspected insurgents affiliated to the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP) in Dikwa Borno state.
The residents were said to have left their normal camp around their village and strayed several kilometers beyond the designated safe zone to scavenge for scrap metallic materials only to be confronted by desperate insurgents who also gather same for money.
Some civilian JTF sources who spoke with metrowatchonline.com claimed that they were able to gather about 20 bodies immediately they rushed to the scene of the attack on Tuesday while as at yesterday the number had risen to 25 – all killed by shots done at close range.
A Civilian JTF source who was involved in the evacuation of the corpses with soldiers told metrowatchonline.com that they were miffed over the gruesome murders of the metal scavengers in Boboshe Mukdala village of Dikwa.
“As I’m speaking to you we evacuated 25 corpses from the scene already while all of them were shot at close range. As at yesterday we had recovered about 25 bodies of the scrap metal scavengers from the scene of the attack.
“We met some still alive with bullet wounds. We had to rush them to the General Hospital in Dikwa town in conjunction with the Nigerian Army to save their lives”, said the source.
“It was obvious that after they shot them, they were equally butchered. There were children among them, Boko Haram are infidels”, said another resident who escaped on sighting them.
“They came on three motorcycles with each carrying three persons and surrounded us with sophisticated guns before they started shooting at us and killed almost all of my colleagues at the scene scavenging for the scraps popularly called Ajaokuta”, he revealed.
Another eye witness who spoke with us on phone went on: “I am from Malamkari village too, I could not ascertain how many motorbikes they rode on but I saw, people running helter skelter in the village.
“Then the insurgents asked every one to return and some obeyed after which I started to hear gun shots from my hiding place under a bridge. By the time I left my hide out to check what happened when they left the scene I saw only corpses.
Responding to the incident, the theatre Commander, Major General Chris Musa described the killings as “Terrible”
“Deal gone bad between them and insurgents while scavenging scrap metals. The terrorists met with the scrap metal guys and killed them.
“We sent troops to assist the locals recover the corpses. We recovered 20 corpses on that day. They were given boundaries not to cross for their own safety. But most times they go deep inside the bushes where they meet insurgents also scavenging metals. They killed them while some escaped”
