Displaced persons in the Konduga and Damboa districts of Borno State are pleading with the government to beef up security and provide adequate protection.

Two displaced persons have been killed in an attack by insurgents on the Dalori community in the Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State in Nigeria’s northeast.

About 50 insurgents, suspected of being members of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, stormed the community shortly before midnight on Saturday, December 21, when most residents were asleep.

Residents told RNI that the target of the attack was a security post in the town.

They said the insurgents arrived on more than 20 motorbikes. They were heavily armed and they were shooting haphazardly.

“It was terrifying. We woke up and all we could hear was loud gunfire. Security operatives acted swiftly but the gunbattle lasted for at least two hours,” said Aji Modu.

“Sadly, two vigilantes in a patrol vehicle were shot. One died on the spot and the other was taken to a hospital in Maiduguri for urgent medical treatment. He later succumbed to his wounds.”

Modu said the community was mostly made up of displaced persons who had been resettled in Dalori.

Most of the residents were displaced during the 15-year insurgency. Some were recently resettled in Dalori after they were left homeless by the flood that devastated large parts of Maiduguri and surrounding areas in September.

“We were asleep when Boko Haram arrived. Had we been the insurgents’ primary target, they could have killed everyone in the community.

“It was extremely frightening – it reminded us of the horror attacks of previous years when we were forced to flee from our hometown by insurgents. All we could do was to try to remain calm. We comforted the children because they were crying. They thought they would be killed.

“Some of the security operatives, including soldiers and police officers, had to flee for safety.”

Modu said on Sunday morning, shocked residents collected the spent bullets from the gunbattle.

“There were bullets everywhere. We filled two bowls. It is a miracle that only two people were killed,” he said.

Another resident, Mala Gaji, originally from Sheruri Tamsuwa village in the Konduga Local Government Area, said he was first displaced about nine years ago. Persistent attacks by JAS insurgents forced him and his family to flee from their hometown. They stayed in an internally displaced persons’ camp in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.

“The flood in September destroyed our shelter. We lived for a while on the street. The government resettled us in Dalori quite recently. We believed we would be safe. But then the attack on Saturday happened.”

Gaji said the attack had left him feeling extremely fearful: “I cannot help feeling scared, sad and angry. Sometimes I just want to give up. Displacement has taken a hard toll on my family. And, wherever we end up, Boko Haram is there.

“Apart from the two people who were killed in the attack, the insurgents also set fire to two security vehicles and they stole another one and took it when they fled.”

Modu and Gaji described the situation in Dalori as alarming and called on the government to urgently improve security in the area, saying: “The people cannot carry on living like this.”

– Also on Saturday, gunmen attacked and killed two fishermen and two firewood collectors in Sandiya, a border community between the Konduga and Damboa local government areas of Borno State.

Residents said they were certain the gunmen were insurgents but they did not know if they were JAS members or Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters. They said it was difficult to distinguish between the two groups.

Usman Musa, a relative of one of the victims, Baana Chillu, told RNI: “Baana went out early on Saturday to cut firewood. He wanted to sell it to buy food for his family.

“When he did not return home, we were worried. We went with some security operatives to search for him. It took us several hours to locate his body. Nearby his corpse, we found the bodies of the other three men, two of whom were fishermen.

“Baana left behind a wife and four children. Everyone in the Sandiya community is frightened. We do not know when the next attack will happen. It is a grim reminder of the past.”

A Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) member, who asked to remain anonymous, was part of the search team and helped to recover the bodies.

“We took the bodies to their families. They were buried according to Islamic rites.

“The location where they were found is usually considered safe. Sometimes, these insurgents observe their targets, wait for them to leave, and then they carry out such acts.”

He said regular patrols were conducted to prevent such incidents but the scale of the insurgents’ operations often exceeded their capacity to respond effectively.

Residents of both Dalori and Sandiya have appealed to the government to beef up security and provide better protection for their communities.

RUKAIYA AHMED ALIBE