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The people of Borno State woke up to the sad news of the killing of 11 workers brought into the state by the Emirate Council to work on the construction work going on at the Maiduguri Central Mosque.
The army has blamed the attack on “terrorists,” which is how they often refer to a sect known as Boko Haram.
Matthew Okoye, a neighbor, said he saw more than 11 bodies. He said the victims were from Nigeria’s predominantly Christian south.
Another resident of Bolori Kasuwa, said on Monday morning, said he counted 11 bodies being carried out of the house, but did not know whether there were more before some Joint Task Force (JTF) officials asked them to close their doors from where they were watching what was going on.
“It is so sad my brother. These people did not even know anybody in this town, and they came to town more than five weeks ago. If not that they came to look for their daily bread, how could someone just hate them to the extent that they would be killed in such a brutal manner?” he said.
In a statement signed by Lieutenant-General Sagir Musa, the spokesman for the JTF on Operation Restore Order in Borno State, the JTF confirmed that information available to it revealed that nine construction workers working at the Maiduguri Central Mosque were killed by suspected terrorists at about 01.45 hours on Monday.
According to the statement, the victims were living in a compound located at Bolori General Area, Maiduguri metropolis.
Lt. Col. Musa said Monday that the assailants cut their victims’ throats and that one man was found Monday still breathing even as he bled from the neck
“The incident was reported to the task force at about 06.05 hours when the dastardly act was completed. JTF troops rushed to the area/compound and saw the dead bodies and they were deposited at the mortuary at Borno State Specialist Hospital.”
The statement, however, said that no arrest had been made and effort was on to apprehend the culprits.
Six of the first batch of workers brought in by the Borno State government to work at the Borno Clay Industry were killed.
