Gunmen Burn Churches, Border Posts In Borno

Administrator, Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority, Dame Aleruchi Cookey-Gam, in a chat with the Deputy Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Leyii Kwane, during an oversight visit to the Authority, last Friday.

Suspected members of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram set fire to churches and border posts in Borno State yesterday, but it was not immediately known if there were casualties.

Around 50 gunmen in cars and motorcycles carried out the attacks on three churches and border posts with neighbouring Cameroon, opening fire on police and chanting Allahu Akbar, (God is Greatest).

Among the security posts burned were offices for Nigeria Immigration Service, Customs Service and the State Security Service and a quarantine building in Gamboru Ngala, about 140 kilometres from Maiduguri.

“The gunmen believed to be Boko Haram came in cars and on motorcyles around 8:30 am and attacked the security offices at the border posts, burning them.” “They opened fire on the security personnel but it is hard to say if anybody was hurt or killed,” a resident said.

Another resident, Hamidu Ahmad, said the gunmen went into town “chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and burnt down the divisional police station and three churches”.