Boko Haram kills 85 people in a small village near Maiduguri .

Boko Haram Leader

Eighty-five people have been confirmed dead in last Saturday night’s attack at Dalori, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Commissioner for Health Dr. Haruna Mshelia told the deputy governor and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) at the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, that 65 bodies were deposited at the Specialist Hospital, 10 at the University Teaching Hospital, while 10 were buried at Dalori village.

An eyewitness said he saw over 20 bodies burnt beyond recognition, but unofficial sources said more than 100 died.

However, a rescue worker with one of the humanitarian agencies said over 100 people were killed.

A civilian joint task force operative, Hassan Aliyu,  told The Nation on phone that more than 100 people died.

“As at Saturday night, the people who died were over 100. I’m sure many might have died today. Anybody who tells you that the figure is less than 100 is not saying the truth,” he said.

Modu Ajari, who escaped, told our correspondent on the phone in Maiduguri that the insurgents shot sporadically and people ran for safety.

He said a bomb detonated by a suicide bomber caused the high casualty.

The terrorists reportedly arrived the village in a convoy of Golf vehicles and motorcycles, carrying explosives and petro-bombs. They were said to have fled towards Alau Dam at 6 p.m.

Dalori is a farming and herding community, 12 kilometres east of Maiduguri.

Modu Anfoni, a villager, said the insurgents stormed the community through Yale village in a convoy of vehicles and motorcycles in the evening, into Maiduguri without passing through the military posts on the Maiduguri-Bama Road.

Confirming the attack, the Media Coordinator of Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Mustpaha Anka, in a statement, said: “The insurgents came in Golf cars, motorcycles and opened fire, burnt houses. They wanted to cause confusion and penetrate the crowd with suicide bombers.

“While people were running to Gomari Kerkeri village, three female suicide bombers attempted to make their way into the crowd, but were intercepted and got blown up.”

He said during the 45-minute military “fierce repulsion”, lives were lost, while people were injured.

Anka said: “The insurgents attempted to enter Dalori IDP camp, but they were resisted by troops, which resulted in the detonation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by the suicide bombers.”

The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Umaru Hassan, yesterday consoled the District Head of Dalori, Alhaji Lawal Bashir and his subjects on the attack.

He assured them that the command would end insurgency in Borno State soon.

Hailing the villagers for their resilience, he urged them to be strong and committed in the fight against terrorism.

Gen. Hassan said: “I praise the National and State Emergency Management Agencies (NEMA and SEMA), Red Cross and others for rescuing and resettling displaced people in camps.