Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have attacked Awapul, a community in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, destroying houses and shops during an early morning raid.
The assailants were said to have stormed the community in large numbers around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, firing sporadically before setting parts of the settlement ablaze and damaging property.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, said no lives were lost in the attack.
He said, “There was an attack this morning around 1:30 a.m. in Chibok Local Government, in a village called Awapul.
“The attack was carried out by unknown men suspected to be Boko Haram. There were no casualties; it was destruction of property.”
Residents told our correspondent that the attackers, who arrived on motorcycles, operated in the area for over an hour without resistance.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said several affected residents had fled to safer locations.
“They burned down houses and small shops. Some of the owners have relocated to Chibok main town for safety,” the source said.
He urged the government to prioritise security in the area, stressing that protection of lives remained the community’s most urgent need.
“Our plea is simple not food or clothing. What we need is protection so we can go about our daily activities,” he added.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours after insurgents attacked an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Damasak and the Nganzai Divisional Police Headquarters, also in Borno State.
During the earlier attacks, the terrorists reportedly set ablaze an unserviceable Armoured Personnel Carrier and killed four police officers and a member of a local hunters’ group.
The police had disclosed that the attackers deployed Rocket-Propelled Grenades and other sophisticated weapons in an attempt to overrun the affected locations but were repelled by security operatives.
“The attackers, who deployed Rocket-Propelled Grenades and other sophisticated weapons, caused damage to a section of the station and partially burnt an unserviceable Armoured Personnel Carrier,” Daso had stated.
“Regrettably, four police personnel paid the supreme price in the line of duty.”
In a related development, the police spokesman said terrorists also attacked Mallam Fatori IDP Camp in Damasak at about 2:40 a.m. on April 4, targeting a CJTF/Hunters duty post at the entrance of the facility.
He added that one member of the hunters’ group, identified as Atom Abua, aged 40, was killed, while about 20 thatched houses and other property were destroyed in the attack.
