By Olarewaju Kola
LAGOS
At least 43 people, including children, have been killed in an attack by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria's northeastern Borno State.
Armed militants stormed Gubio town, about 85 kilometers from provincial capital Maiduguri, on Saturday, resident Modu Gubio said Tuesday.
"Boko Haram [militants] arrived in our town at about 4.30pm and they stayed till 9.45pm. They shot and killed 43 people," he told reporters during a visit to the area by the state governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima.
"Some youths were playing football on an open field when the insurgents came and started shooting. We were hearing gunshots from different parts of the town," he added.
The attack came barely two days after the Nigerian army said that it had killed several Boko Haram militants in an operation in Sambisa forest, a major Boko Haram stronghold.
Alhaji Bukar Mondama, leader of the vigilante group in the town, confirmed the killing of 43 people in the latest attack.
"We've buried the 43 people, including two children," he said.
Malum Bukar said his uncle was killed by the militants while trying to flee his house, which was burnt by the militants.
"He fled the house to a nearby house after Boko Haram [militants] set fire on his house but they pursued him and shot him dead," he said.
"Other family members have taken the incident as an act of God."
Gubio, which has been previously attacked by Boko Haram, was in ruins when the governor visited on Tuesday as most of the houses have been burnt down by the insurgents.
The town is located near some 100 kilometers away from Baga around the Nigerian border which has also suffered several attacks by Boko Haram militants.
Residents said more than 400 houses and several public buildings have been burnt by Boko Haram militants.
"We're going to rebuild all the structure destroyed by the insurgents," said Shettima, who was re-elected as the provincial governor of Borno state last month.
"Government will constitute committee to work out modalities for the reconstruction of the town," he added.
