Boko Haram sets hospital on fire, kills three people

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have attacked a Madagali community, killing atleast three persons and abducted few others.

Residents said armed insurgents raided Pallam village on Monday night, shooting and looting property.

A displaced resident, Adiel Yakubu said the insurgents burnt three persons to death and injured several others before setting a hospital on fire.

“We heard gun shots and confusion in the night. That was when we realised there was an attack. We ran to the bush”, he stated.

The House of Representatives member from Madagali, Adamu Kamale said he received distress calls from his constituents when the attack occurred, calling on Federal government to respond adequately to security threat in the area.

Madagali area has seen several attacks since its liberation  from Boko Haram in 2015.

Recent attacks include those on Wanu, Kafin Hausa and Wakara communities.

Attempt to speak to military authorities at the 28 Task Force Battalion in Mubi was not successful

The attack was the first in Adamawa this year after a surge in hit-and-run raids and suicide bombings in recent months.

“Five people fell victim to the attack: three were killed and two were critically injured and taken to hospital,” said Maina Ularamu, a former Madagali local government chairman.

Resident David Maigrai supported Ularamu’s account and added: “They burnt several shops and many homes. They also stole food.

“On their way out of the village, they ran into a group of vigilantes on patrol in Kuda village, who engaged them in a shoot-out, killing two of the attackers”.

One of the victims was a shopkeeper who was sleeping inside his shop and refused to open the door to the jihadists. He was burnt alive.

A security guard at a medical clinic was also killed after the militant fighters had looted the facility, said Ularamu.

Adamawa was said to have been cleared of Boko Haram in late 2015, after they rampaged across the northeast, seizing towns and territory. But attacks have continued in the north of the state, particularly around Madagali, which borders Borno state and the militants’ Sambisa Forest stronghold.

“There is no doubt the attackers came from Sambisa,” said Ularamu.

“We experience such periodic attacks from Boko Haram, who usually look for food.” The insurgency began in 2009 and has since killed at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.6 million others homeless.

Credit: Daily Trust