17 killed in B'Haram, Vigilance group clash

No fewer than 17 people were killed and 17
others injured when suspected Boko Haram
sect members attacked some members of the
civilian vigilance group in Benisheik village,
near Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on
Saturday night.
The attack came barely 48 hours after the
Nigeria military raided an Islamic insurgent
camp and killed about 50 sect members in
the North.
While the 12 vigilance group members were
killed, five Boko Haram members lost their
lives and four AK-47 rifles were also
retrieved in the clash.
According to an operative of the Civilian
Joint Task Force Vigilance Group, Zannah
Fannami, the vigilance members were killed
while repelling Boko Haram's attack on the
town.
The 27-year-old operative, with the Civilian
Joint Task Force vigilante group, who is
receiving treatment at the University of
Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for a bullet to
his right thigh said, "We heard that they
would be coming since Friday and had been
keeping vigil all nights.
"Late Saturday night, when we least expected
it, we heard a thunderous sound like that of
a bomb coming from the direction of a
soldiers' post, then we decided to advance
toward the sound and the Boko Haram
gunmen, carrying sophisticated arms, opened
fire on us, killing 12 of our members."
The survivor explained that the vigilance
group, which was formed to fight the Boko
Haram insurgents, killed five of the sect
members and took possession of four of that
AK-47 rifles.
Another injured Civilian-JTF operative, 32-
year-old Muhammed Abuwar, blamed the
military for the attack, saying the soldiers
refused to shield them from the "expected"
attack.
Borno State Government labour adviser,
Garba Ngamdu, who also hails from
Benisheik, said one of vigilance members had
died in the hospital as doctors tried to
remove bullets from his body.
He also confirmed the death of the five Boko
Haram members at the hands of vigilance
members with machetes and said their
corpses were on the outskirts of the town.