by Adeola Balogun

There seems to be no end in sight to the current violence in the North-East as yet another massacre is said to have occurred in Borno yesterday night.

The extent of the damage and the number of casualties after the attack on Jakana Village in the Kaga Local Government Area of the state is not yet known as details of the incident are still sketchy.

The invasion of Jakana by Boko Haram militants is said to have lasted until 3.a.m in the morning.

‪Premium Times reports:

‪PREMIUM TIMES gathered that villagers from a neighbouring village of Auno had to flee Njimtilo, another village outside Maiduguri, upon seeing the skies being lighted by burning fire from the direction of the attacked village.‬

‪”We spent the nIght in Njimtilo village after running from our own village, Auno”, said an embattled villager, Bashir Adam.

He added that “even in Njimtilo we could still hear the sounds of shooting in Jakana. We hope our brethren there will survive this calamity that has befallen us”.‬ The Borno Police Public Relations Officer, Gideon Jubrin,  confirmed the incident to journalists but said there were no details yet.

The Monday night attack in Jakana occurs about 24 hours after at least 32 people were killed by the Boko Haram in Mafa Village. Mafa Village was also set ablaze by the terrorists in an attack that residents said lasted about 5 hours.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the villagers in Mafa had been forewarned of the attack and many of them fled their homes about a week ago. The warnings were allegedly handed down by Boko Haram members via leaflets dropped around the village. According to the Senator representing Borno Central, Ahmed Zannah, the gunmen not only massacred the hapless villagers, but also razed down the entire village.

Mr. Zannah told journalists on Monday that two police officers died in a bomb explosion targeted at an Armoured Personnel Carrier while they were trying to evacuate injured victims.

“I have officially received a detailed report from my constituents in Mafa that 29 people among which was a woman died during the attack. Two policemen also died this morning as they went to evacuate injured people,” the senator said on Monday.

A resident of Mafa, Modu Yuraim, who survived the attack, told journalists in a telephone interview that “We have performed the burial of 32 persons, among them was a woman”.

Mr. Yuraim said the attackers came in various vehicles at about 8 p.m. on Sunday night and began to shoot sporadically. He said most of the houses, which were of thatched roofs, caught fire.

“They have set on fire the entire village, sparing nothing. All houses, all shops and government buildings were razed down completely; we have been devastated beyond what one can describe,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the attack, which started at about 8 p.m. lasted over five hours; a development that left many wondering why it took security officials so long to arrive the village which is just about 45km away.

“I was reliably informed by my people that all the soldiers in Mafa fled during the attack because they could not stand the superior weapons of the Boko-Haram,” he said.

Mr. Yuraim added that apart from the houses that were burnt down, the gunmen also burnt down seven trucks loaded with goods, as well as other vehicles. The chairman of Mafa Local Government Area, Abubakar Zulum, said the loss suffered by the people, apart from the 32 lives lost, were worth billions of Naira