Boko haram bares fangs in Niger

An attack by the Boko Haram terrorist sect in Niger Republic on Wednesday night has left about 38 people dead.

A member of the local parliament, Bulu Mammadu, said the victims included women and children, shot dead in two different villages.

Boko Haram is currently being tackled by a multinational force, including soldiers from Niger and Chad which also experienced a suicide attack on Monday.

Mammadu said that as well as killing people, the militants had burnt down several houses in the two villages of Lamina and Ungumawo, in the Diffa region, close to Nigeria’s border.

But on his Twitter handle on Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari assured Nigerians and their neighbours that the Boko Haram insurgents would soon be defeated.

“I mourn every single death of a Nigerian as a result of terrorism. That is why security is my number one priority. Our efforts to strengthen security cooperation with our neighbours and adjust our own response to Boko Haram will yield results very soon. Our resolve and capacity to end terrorism is much greater than the threat we face. Nigeria will prevail,” Buhari said.

There were reports that Chad responded to the attack on its citizens with air strikes on suspected Boko Haram positions within Nigeria, but military authorities denied any such attacks.

Since being sworn in last month, Buhari has pushed ahead with plans to beef up the multinational force, which will be made up of 7,500 troops.

On Monday, the United States of America’s government, at the 25th African Union Summit pledged the sum of $5m to back Nigeria and its neighbours in their fight against Boko Haram.

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