Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, says 18 residents were killed and 21 others injured when Boko Haram insurgents attacked Damasak town.
He confirmed the figures from residents who witnessed the attack and saw several properties destroyed when he visited the town, the governor’s media aide, Isa Gusau, said in a statement on Friday.
The governor who was in Damasak on Thursday and spent the night had interactions with soldiers and others security forces involved in the counter-insurgency operations in the town.
He also sympathised with the residents and assessed the level of destruction caused by the insurgents, noting that Tuesday’s attack on Damasak was the sixth in two weeks.
According to the statement, thousands of residents who had fled to border communities in the Niger Republic returned on Friday while residents to the governor that the insurgents attacked the town with three gun trucks.
The UN humanitarian hub, private residential houses, a police station, the palace of the district head, a primary healthcare centre, and a GSM Village were among property destroyed.
Governor Zulum assured the residents of robust measures to avert future insurgent attacks on Damasak, saying he has directed the strengthening of agricultural activities in the town.
As part of the measures, he held an operational meeting with soldiers and other security forces after which he presented 12 security vehicles, including an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and 11 patrol vehicles.
The governor travelled to Damasak along with the lawmaker representing Borno North, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who hails from the town, as well as some government officials.
Damasak, the headquarter of Mobbar Local Government Area in northern Borno, is located on the fringes of Lake Chad and shares a border with communities in the Niger Republic.
The town used to be a producer and exporter of vegetables to target markets within Nigeria and neighbouring countries before Boko Haram occupied it in 2014 as one of their caliphates.
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