25th February, 2014
Twenty nine people have been declared dead in the latest massacre of sleeping secondary school students in Buni Yadi, in the north eastern Nigerian state of Yobe, by gunmen from Boko Haram.
The Boko Haram gunmen attacked the dormitory of the Federal Government College early today, as the students slept.
Military spokesman Lazarus Eli said the gunmen “opened fire on student hostels” at the college, roughly 60 kilometres (40 miles) from the state capital Damaturu, which includes students aged 11 to 18.
Yobe’s police chief Sanusi Rufai told AFP that 29 people were killed but it was not immediately clear if all of the dead were students.
Rufai said he was en route to Buni Yadi with Yobe’s covernor Ibrahim Geidam to assess the extent of the damage.
Yobe is one of three northeastern states which was placed under emergency rule in May last year when the military launched a massive operation to crush the Boko Haram uprising.
At least 40 students were killed in September at an agriculture training college in Yobe after Boko Haram gunmen stormed a series of dorms in the middle of the night and sprayed gunfire on sleeping students.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the northeast since the emergency measures were imposed, despite the enhanced military presence.
Geidam and the governor of neighbouring Borno state, Kashim Shettima, have fiercely criticised the military’s record in combatting Boko Haram, insisting that more resources were needed to defeat the emboldened and increasingly well-armed insurgents.
In a video sent to AFP last week, Boko Haram’s purported leader, Abubakar Shekau, said he would continue his relentless campaign of violence on anyone who supports democracy or so-called Western values.