More than 70 Nigerians were allegedly killed on Sundan when Cameroonian troops invaded a village in Borno state.
Residents of Kirawa-Jimni village in Gwoza local government area of Borno State have said that they have buried over 70 persons after soldiers of the Cameroonian army allegedly chased Boko Haram insurgents into their community.
The incident, which happened on Sunday, had forced many of the villagers to flee their community in fear for their lives.
According to Leadership, some of the villagers revealed, on phone, that the soldiers invaded their community on Sunday afternoon demanding the whereabouts of some Boko Haram fighters whom they had been chasing.
Muhammed Abba, a resident of Jimnana and deputy commander of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Gwoza said: “We didn’t know what was going on but the Cameroonian troops suddenly appeared and began to ask us for Boko Haram terrorists.
“Before we could say a word, they started firing; that scared most of us, and we began to run; but the soldiers opened fire and many people died. Those that went back on Monday found over 70 corpses littering the ground.”
Confirming the incident, Borno State spokesman of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Abbas Gava, said, “From the reports we have received from fleeing residents of the village who called from Ashigashiya, near Cameroon, they said the soldiers were in hot pursuit of the Boko Haram terrorists who ran into Kirawa-Jimni. The soldiers did not waste time upon arrival as they immediately opened fire on the villagers”.
Also confirming the development to Leadersip, a top politician from Gwoza local government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “we have received similar reports of the incident in Kirawa-Jimnana but what we are getting are snippets of information which cannot be taken as official.”