Gunmen kill 8 at wedding

Gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram on Saturday stormed a wedding reception venue in Hawul local government area of Borno State where they killed eight celebrants and injured 12 others.
Witnesses said the  two attackers drove on a motorcycle  to the reception venue at Tashan Alade village along Bama Gwoza road and pretended to be guests.
Sama’ila Ali, a guest from Sokwa, a nearby village said the attackers took all the participants unawares around 2pm when naira notes were being sprayed on the celebrants.
“They opened fire on the people that were dancing at the centre of the reception venue…we heard sporadic gunshots and the whole place was thrown into pandemonium, everybody running to different direction except those that were killed and critically injured,” he said.
Ali, who spoke to our correspondent by phone, could not confirm whether the bride and the groom were affected.
A resident of Maiduguri told Daily Trust yesterday that his cousin, Yusuf Dauda was among the eight people killed in the incident.
He said late Dauda left Maiduguri to Tashan  Alade purposely to participate in the wedding activities which attracted many family members, friends and well wishers from all walks of life.
“It was as if Yusuf’s mother had premonition of his death because she called less few minutes before he was killed.  When he told her that the wedding was over at the Church, she told him not to waste time in the remaining festivities but unfortunately, she was later told that her son is no more,” he said
In a separate attack on Friday, locals said suspected members of the Boko Haram have slaughtered many people and burnt over 30 houses at Warabe, a village close to Pulka, not far from the Sambisa forest in Bama local government area.
Mohammed Babagana, a driver at the Bama motor park passed through the village yesterday said “the villagers have suffered a lot in the hands of terrorists.”
According to him, “Only handfuls of people are there now, mostly women and children. I conveyed some relatives of the victims who went there for condolences and I joined them in prayers,” he said.
He said some of the victims are squatting in the few thatched houses standing in the village.
When contacted on phone, spokesman of the 7 Division of the Nigeria Army, Col Mohammed Dole referred our reporter to his second in command, Captain Aliyu Danja who could not be reached as at the time of filing this report.
Soldiers on guard at the 7 Division headquarters said Danja had gone out on official engagement.