23 killed in Boko Haram rampage in Nigeria’s Borno

Acts of violence by Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists in Nigeria’s Borno State have left 23 villagers dead, as the country is voting in presidential and parliamentary elections.

Officials confirmed that 23 people were decapitated and burned in an attack in Barutai on Saturday.

Mohammed Adamu, a council official in the village said that militants used chainsaws to decapitate the people.

“All of us ran into the bush…. Those who were unfortunate were caught in their houses and slaughtered,” he said.

Boko Haram militants attacked other areas in Nigeria's Gombe and Yobe State on the election day, killing scores of people there.

Gunmen launched an attack on a polling station in the town of Dukku in the northeastern state of Gombe, killing five people. An earlier assault took place in the villages of Birin Bolawa and Birin Fulani in the same state, killing two people. Another attack in Ngalda, in Yobe State, killed 3 other people.

People in the oil-rich West African country turned out en masse to vote in a presidential election on Saturday in a close race between incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and former military chief Muhammadu Buhari. Parliamentary elections are also being held in the country simultaneously.

Nearly 360,000 police officers have been deployed across the violence-hit country to provide security for the polls, which had initially been set for February 14 but were postponed for fear of attacks by Boko Haram militants.

All of this comes at a time when Boko Haram has vowed to disrupt the polls.

The Takfiris have claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of Nigeria since the beginning of their activities in 2009, which have so far left over 13,000 people dead and 1.5 million displaced.

MS/HJL/SS

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