Gunmen opened fire in Mubi town, Adamawa State in Nigeria in a commando-style raid that killed at least 46 people on Monday evening, most of whom were students.
The killers were believed to be members of the violent jihadist militant group Boko Haram that is based in northeast Nigeria. The Islamist religious sect has targeted Nigeria’s police, rival clerics, politicians, and public institutions with increasing violence since 2009.
At least three others were confirmed killed in other violent confrontations over the weekend.
Although the official casualty figure in the Mubi killing was put at 25, sources said the figure could be higher as no fewer than 26 students of the Federal Polytechnic alone were shot dead, according to the website AllAfrica..com
Students of other schools attacked were from the School of Health Technology and the Adamawa State University, all in Mubi.
An official of the Federal Polytechnic, who craved anonymity for security reasons, said that the shooting took place at about 10 p.m., when the gunmen opened fire on some students at Wuro-Fatuje. Wuro-Fatuje, a suburb of Mubi, is heavily populated by off-campus students of the three institutions.
He confirmed that 26 students of the polytechnic were among the casualties, while the others were students of the two other institutions.
By Tuesday, operatives of the internal joint security task force, headed by Brig-Gen. John Nwoaga, along with the state Police Commissioner, Geofrey Okeke, had beefed up security in the town with the deployment of more soldiers and policemen in the town that was locked down last week by security agents in search of Boko Haram insurgents.
Adamawa State Police Command spokesman, Ibrahim Mohammed, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed that 25 bodies had so far been deposited at the General Hospital, Mubi.
He, however, said the figure might rise as security agents were still in the area combing for more victims.
Also, the spokesman of National Emergency Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Yushua Shuaib, confirmed over the phone that 25 people were killed in the attack on the students.
According to him, the number of the injured could not yet be determined as security agents were still combing the area for bodies and injured victims.
In the last two weeks, the Adamawa State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Mubi in the face of the mounting security challenge in the town.
In 2011, Boko Haram was responsible for at least 450 killings in Nigeria. It was also reported that they had been responsible for over 620 deaths over the first six months of 2012.
Boko Haram followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: “Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors”.
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it “haram”, or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.
This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.
Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.
