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Boko Haram attack kills 42


The killing spree by gunmen, believed to be members of Boko Haram continued, yesterday, after an attack in Gamboru Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State which reportedly claimed about 42 lives.

Gamboru LGA was the scene of attack, three weeks ago, which left at least 300 people, including 16 policemen, dead.


The latest attack occurred in the villages of Kanari, Wazarde and Gula along Nigeria's border with Cameroun.

It came on the heels of the ambush by gunmen, on Friday, on the convoy of some emirs in Borno State killing one and leaving two others seriously injured.

In the meantime, the Federal Government said it had not foreclosed dialogue in resolving the war with the Boko Haram Islamist group.
It also doused the controversy sparked by the statement by the Minister of Youth Development, Mr Boni Haruna, that amnesty plan for repentant Boko Haram members was in the pipeline, saying there was no such plan.

Yesterday's attack in Gamboru Ngala LGA, according to reports, occurred after gunmen arrived the three border villages at about 3a.m in trucks with assault rifles, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and petrol bombs.

The gunmen, sources said, shot sporadically at fleeing residents, killing the victims.

"The shooting went on for about seven hours. The gunmen had a field day and operated unchallenged as they did not leave until about 9.30 am on Saturday", one of the sources revealed.

The villages have been reportedly deserted as survivors took refuge in Ngala town and neighbouring Cameroun villages.

Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mr Lawal Tanko, said he was not aware of the attack.
However, a top security source, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed the attack.

He told newsmen that two of the attacked villages were razed by the invaders.

The Federal Government, yesterday, declared that it had not ruled out dialogue with Boko Haram to stop its killings in the Northeast and the release of the over 200 schoolgirls it abducted in Chibok, Borno State on April 14.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, who disclosed this, said that whereas government was pursing a military campaign against the Islamist group, dialogue option remained on the table.

"The Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Conflict in the North-east is a standing one. There is also a Presidential Fact-Finding Committee both of which have been engaging stakeholders and have been offering advice. The position of government has been that the military option is there to deal specifically with impunity because no responsible government will fold its arms and allow any group supported by Al Qaeda to over run the country or threaten to divide the country", Abati told told journalists.

"The Nigerian government has made that very clear and President Jonathan has always said that he will not allow anybody to disintegrate Nigeria under his watch. At the same time, government has a soft approach under which it offers those who are willing to renounce terrorism to lay down their arms and return to the fold as citizens.

The door is open to them for dialogue. The door is open to them for repentance and rehabilitation. They are like the lost sheep and the President is saying even these lost sheep we are willing to bring them back to the fold. The door of the Nigerian state is open to anyone who has gone astray, who has been misled to think that violence is a solution to whatever problem he or she may have, to rejoin the Nigerian family and conduct themselves as true citizens".

'President never mentioned amnesty for Boko Haram'

Also, yesterday, Abati said President Goodluck Jonathan never mentioned the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram members during his Democracy Day speech.

The presidential adviser was reacting to the statement by the Minister of Youths Development, Haruna, on Thursday, during one of the events marking the Democracy Day celebrations, that government would grant amnesty to Boko Haram members who renounce violence and lay down their arms.

Abati, who spoke with State House correspondents, said the President never mentioned amnesty in his Democracy Day broadcast.

















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