25 traders killed in local market attack in Nigeria

At least 25 traders have been killed in an attack at a local market in Nigeria's restive state of Borno, sources said here Monday.

The place is 30 km away from the scene of the abduction of more than 200 school girls in April.

The attack, blamed on the Boko Haram sect, occurred Sunday at Daku village of Askir Uba local government area of the northern state, Xinhua reported.

"More people may have been killed. No one can say precisely how many traders lost their lives. We all had to scamper for safety. Obviously, the attackers were Boko Haram members," said Musa Tijani, a trader who spoke in local Hausa language.

 

According to Tijani, the attackers invaded the market, driving utility vans and riding on motorcycles.

They also carted away some wares from the shops. Before looting the shops, they sprayed bullets indiscriminately at buyers and sellers at the market, he added.

Dozens of people were injured in the attack, Usman Mohammed, another trader who witnessed the attack, said. He said some shops were razed by the attackers who also brandished knives and machetes during the attack.

A local official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said only 25 bodies have been found so far. The official, however, declined to give further details on the attack.

"Honestly, we have not yet received any report concerning the attack in Askir Uba local government area, but we will get back to you once we get any of such report," Gideon Jibrin, state police spokesperson, said.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the last three months in many village attacks across three states in the northeast region of Nigeria by Boko Haram, an outlawed sect, which has proved to be a major security threat in the West African country since 2009.
culled from IANS