Dozens of suspected members of the Boko Haram sect on Monday night stormed Buratai community, the village of Nigeria’s new Army chief, Yusuf Buratai, a general, leaving behind at least two persons dead and many others injured.
The militants also set many homes on fire even as they rained bullets after fleeing residents.
The house of a former commissioner of sports, Isa Buratai, was also destroyed.
The militants, who arrived the village in embattled Borno State around 7pm on Monday shot indiscriminately into the air to alert the villagers of their presence.
Residents say the assault was followed closely by a failed suicide bomb attempt at a military checkpoint in the town of Biu, just 25 kilometres away.
The militants were said to have slit the throats of two of the male residents they were able to capture in the ensuing melee.
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“They slaughtered two people they apprehended while trying to flee the village and burnt more than 30 homes,” a Buratai resident simply identified as Tanimu Mudi told AFP.
Another resident, Audi Bukar, claimed he saw many corpses as he fled the community.
Also, Yuram Bura, a young vigilante assisting the soldiers deployed to the troubled state, confirmed the raid.
“There was a an attack on Buratai on Monday night by Boko Haram gunmen where they cut the throats of two people and burnt several homes,” he told newsmen.
In April, 2015, the ancient town was also attacked and about 20 people were killed.
Biu, a nearby town, is the largest town in Southern Borno, and is located about 180 kilometres from Maiduguri.
It has been hit by a series of deadly suicide and bomb attacks in recent times.
It is believed that the latest attack may be a violent statement targeted at the new army chief who has been vociferous in his remarks against the sect, promising to rout the militants as soon as possible.