Residents in both Chibok and Damboa say the attacks came as a surprise and they were now in mourning instead of celebrating the day of the birth of Christ.
In the run-up to Christmas, six people have been killed in two separate attacks by insurgents in Borno State.
Unknown gunmen, thought to be members of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), better known as Boko Haram, attacked Pemi Village in Chibok on Wednesday evening, December 20, killing three men.
The village has an active Christian community. They were preparing for the Christmas festivities and were looking forward to celebrating the day that Christ was born.
Residents told RNI that they heard gunshots at about 5pm. They said all the Pemi villagers were terrified and many of them, including women and children, ran into the bushes to hide as the insurgents raided their homes.
They said the attack came as a surprise. They had not expected to be attacked in the days leading up to Christmas.
The insurgents invaded homes, looting food and other valuables, before setting the houses on fire.
“We lost three people, all of whom died from gunshot wounds during the attack,” said a resident, who identified himself only as Yakubu. “We are in mourning at a time when we should be celebrating.
“It is so sad that an elderly man, who was 75, had survived the insurgency and was now living in relative peace in his old age and then murdered in cold blood by Boko Haram. What harm could he have done to them?”
The police command in Borno State confirmed the that three people had been killed in the attack.
Assistant superintendent Nahum Daso, a police public relations officer, said a joint effort by the military and local security personnel successfully repelled the attack.
“Unfortunately, three people were killed. One was a 75-year-old man named Badi, another was identified as Ngule, aged 45, and the third was Abana Yahi, aged 40,” said Daso.
The Pemi community was first attacked shortly before Christmas in 2020. Since then there have been several other isolated attacks. The last was reported in late January in 2022.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, suspected JAS fighters attacked charcoal loggers in Damboa.
A source told RNI’s correspondent that the attack took place near Ba’ale, a remote village in the Damboa Local Government Area. Three charcoal loggers were killed.
A relative of one of the deceased said his brother, Abba Mai, had left home two days before the attack. The family did not know where he was. They learnt later that he had been murdered by insurgents.
He said Mai’s family, the relatives of the other two murdered men and residents were mourning their deaths.
There has been no word from the Borno State police command about the attack.
Just three weeks ago, insurgents, thought to be members of the JAS and who arrived riding on the backs of camels, ambushed 11 Damboa firewood collectors. Their deaths were particularly gruesome as they were later found beheaded.
Adamu Aliyu Ngulde
