Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

New information available indicate that at least eight civilians wre killed in last Friday’s terrorist  attack on Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri.

Although civilians were believed to have been caught in the crossfire between Boko Haram insurgents and the military, the number of those killed was not known.

But the chairman of the Borno State Special Emergency Relief Committee, Bulama Mali Gubio, said on Tuesday that at least eight civilians were killed in the attack on the barracks ostensibly carried out by the insurgents to free their colleagues who were detained there.

Gubio said this in an interview with journalists in Maiduguri, after the distributions of relief materials to victims of the attack.

“From what we gathered from affected communities, 8 people died. These are not included in the numbers of insurgents killed. These are civilians. Some of those wounded are still in the hospital,” he stated.

The chairman lamented that residents of at least four communities (Fori, Koreri, Wadia and Gambori villages) were displaced, as their houses were burnt down.

“What we’re doing now is to distribute food items and non food items to the victims and affected communities at least to address their immediate need. The state government would later rebuild their burnt houses,” he said.

Trucks of foodstuffs, clothes, cooking utensils and N1 million were distributed to each of the affected communities, amounting to N27 million.