Gunmen suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect who hid their guns inside a coffin, on Friday, launched deadly attacks against a group of vigilantes in Maiduguri , the Borno State capital, killing 13 of the youths before being shot by security forces.
This came as the soldiers shot dead another eight suspected Boko Haram gunmen in the town on Thursday, leaving their bodies in a ditch.
It was learnt that Friday’s attack targeted members of a newly formed youth vigilante group in Maiduguri which provides information to security operatives on the activities and movement of the insurgents.
It is believed that the gunmen hid their Kalashnikov assault rifles inside a coffin as they drove through the various military checkpoints without being searched.
They were said to have opened fire on members of the vigilantes who were driving in a van, killing 13 of them instantly.
From counts, it was learnt that they emptied round after round of their ammunition on the youths, an eye witness said “They continued shooting until they ran out of ammunition, then some courageous youth rounded them up and handed them over to the soldiers, who shot them dead as they attempted to escape,” the witness was quoted as saying that hecounted eight dead suspected Boko Haram gunmen after the shooting.