Nigeria: 43 Killed in Boko Haram Raids, President Reacts

Local Editor

Boko Haram gunmen killed 43 people in four villages in northeast Nigeria, slitting some residents' throats and opening fire on others, one resident and the police said.

Boko Haram had mounted almost daily raids, bombings and suicide attacks in northeast Nigeria since May 29, when Muhammadu Buhari became president vowing to crush the six-year Takfirisim uprising.

"In Kilwa alone, they killed seven people, including the village head and left one seriously injured with a fracture on his leg," a resident said. "They then proceeded to Gwollam, Misala and Magaram, where they did the same thing", he added.

The Nigerian government had fired four military chiefs as part of a process to strengthen the fight against terror group Boko Haram.

President Muhammadu Buhari sacked the army, navy, air force and defense chiefs as the Takfiris continue to kill hundreds of people in the north east.

Furthermore, government spokesperson Mike Omeri said that Buhari made the decision to "re-engineer and add vigor to the military".

Buhari's decision came as Boko Haram released an "ISIL" style beheading video weeks after it pledged allegiance to "ISIL" Takfiri group.

Many women and children fled to Monguno but were living in the open air with little food, he said. Others made it to Maiduguri to raise the alarm.

"From what we heard, the gunmen raided these villages. They shot dead their victims and in some cases slit their throats. They also carted away foodstuffs and livestock," Borno state police commissioner, Aderemi Padokun said.

Moreover, Boko Haram mounted a similar raid on a nearby village in the Monguno area on July 1, killing 48.

The latest deaths take the number of people killed since Buhari's presidency began to more than 625; Boko Haram intensified its attacks in recent months. A twin bomb attack blamed on the group killed at least 44 people and injured 67 in the provincial Nigerian capital of Jos earlier in July.

The explosions followed a suicide bomb attack in a church in the town of Potiskum earlier the same day killing 4 people.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by a website team