A yet-to-be-identified armed group has claimed responsibility for the devastating attack on Ngoshe, a community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, which left scores of soldiers and civilians dead and over 300 residents abducted on Wednesday night.
New Telegraph had earlier reported that the assailants stormed the local military base, fired sporadically, and set homes and shops ablaze.
In a video sighted on Friday, five men from the group declared their intention to seize the territory and celebrate Eid-el-Fitr in the central mosque of Ngoshe.
Speaking in Hausa, one of the men said, “In the name of Allah, the most merciful and most beneficial.
“We thank God Almighty for helping us to succeed in our mission in Ngoshe. Today we are inside the central mosque in Ngoshe.
People in this town are saying that we cannot conquer Ngoshe. With the help of God, we have already conquered the town.
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“By the grace of God, we are going to stay in Ngoshe and make it part of our province and we are going to do the Eid-el-Fitr Salah after the end of Ramadan in Ngoshe.”
He further admitted that many residents were killed or abducted with the intent of enslaving them:
“We have slaughtered males and females in Ngoshe and we have enslaved the others. It was Almighty Allah that said that we should enslave them and go with them.”
The group also threatened to extend attacks to Maiduguri and Abuja, releasing videos showing the killings of men, women, and children.
Eyewitnesses said the attack lasted several hours before the air component of Operation Hadin Kai intervened, forcing the attackers into the forest.
ASP Nahum Daso, spokesperson of the Borno State Police Command, confirmed the attack, adding that many residents remain missing.
“Although some unknown number of civilians yet to be ascertained were also affected or killed. Some are still missing and probably some were abducted and taken towards the Mandara Mountains,” he said.
Usman Tar, Commissioner of Information and Internal Security, said verification efforts are ongoing to determine the exact number of victims.
“On missing persons, we are in the process of verification; the actual figure is yet to be ascertained,” he explained.
The state government has dispatched palliatives and humanitarian aid to survivors now taking refuge in Pulka, another town in Gwoza LGA.
“Currently, the people are comfortable and the military is on top of the situation, ensuring a security corridor for the transportation of items to the victims,” Tar said, adding that healthcare and sanitation teams have also been deployed to prevent disease outbreaks.
