Hundreds of corpses of slain residents of border town of Baga, north of Borno State, still littered the streets and nearby bushes of the restive community barely a week after Boko Haram attacked the area.
Hassan also denied the report of a second attack on the town by Boko Haram and casualty figure of 2,000 people killed as reported by some international media, as outrageous.
He insisted that hundreds of people were killed in last Saturday’s attack on Baga, but insisted the 2,000 figure given was unrealistic. He said there is no fresh attack on Baga as reported. The district head said many women and children were the victims, adding that the insurgents pursued them into the bushes while fleeing the town.
He said the information given to him by the residents indicated that the insurgents were mobilised from Sambiza, Boko Haram’s famous camp and captured Gwoza town where it has declared an Islamic Caliphate since October last year.
According to him, many of the residents of Baga have crossed over to Chad and Niger Republic for safety even as he said some may have equally drowned in the lake around the Chad Basin.
Boko Haram raided a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) military base in Baga, headquarters of Kukawa Local Government, north of Borno last Saturday. The insurgents also sacked and took over Baga town, killing scores of civilians and soldiers.
