LAGOS: Islamist extremists have massacred dozens of students in recent weeks in Nigeria’s northeast, opening a new phase in their insurgency despite a nearly two-month-old military offensive against them.
The latest attack on Saturday saw gunmen storm a secondary boarding school in the village of Mamudo, where they rounded up students and staff in a dormitory, threw explosives and opened fire, killing 42 people, almost all of them students.
Nigerians have grown accustomed to mayhem inflicted by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram — as well as the military’s heavy-handed response — but the gruesomeness of the school massacre drew widespread disgust.
A spokesman for President Goodluck Jonathan said those behind the attack “will certainly go to hell.” Military officials did not respond to requests for comment. The school shooting marks the third such attack in three weeks.
The insurgents’ reasons for targeting students are unclear, though some observers say they may be seeking to generate as much attention as possible through shocking tactics.
Some have called for the government to take a smarter approach in efforts to end Boko Haram’s four-year insurgency, warning that military force will not solve the problem. Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the northeast on May 14, saying Boko Haram had managed to take control of a number of remote border areas, and a sweeping military offensive followed.
Abubakar Tsav, a respected former police commissioner for the economic capital Lagos, said security forces should focus more on on-the-ground intelligence. That should be accompanied by an honest attempt at dialogue, he said.
“In a situation like this, what should normally happen is government should be able to send plainclothes police and security men,” said Tsav.
AFP
