ƤÃŘŤ 1 тнιѕ иєωѕ тяαυмαтιѕє∂ мє Last Tuesday, Boko Haram gunmen, in their hundreds, staged their second attack in a week on the town of Benisheik, 75 km away from Maiduguri. They left at least 140 persons either injured or dead. About a hundred homes and businesses premises were burnt and scores of vehicles, including military tanks, looted. PREMIUM TIMES visited Benisheik and interviewed some eyewitness and victims of that bloody attack. Carnage on the road A commercial cab driver, Sani Babayo, said it was another day of horror along the Kano-Maiduguri Highway. “We thought they were soldiers because their uniforms, vehicles and guns suggested so,” recalled Mr. Babayo. “But when they ordered us to come down from the vehicle and began to ask if we are residents of Maiduguri, it immediately dawned on us that we had fallen into the hands of Boko Haram. “After separating the women and girls from the group, they ordered the men to run into the bush for our lives. No sooner had we started running than they opened fire on us. I saw many of my passengers fall after being hit by flying bullets. I kept running for my dear life until I was out of their range of fire.” Mr. Babayo, who looked dishevelled with tell-tale bruises on his skin and blistered feet, was among few of the very lucky travellers who escaped the Tuesday carnage. Many did not. Most of the victims were those who had gone to make phone calls in the neighbouring Yobe State capital, Damaturu, 136 km from Maiduguri. For four months now, telecom lines have been grounded as a security strategy to combat Boko Haram. Residents of Borno State, since the restoration of phones lines in Yobe State, had had to travel over there to make calls. A young woman, Sarah Hyeladi, was returning to Maiduguri from Damaturu, where she and her elder brother, Markus, had gone to make phones calls when they encountered gunmen. Ms. Hyeladi was lucky but her elder brother was not. “When our vehicle was ... To be continue ...
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 05:59:31 +0000
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