“I was shot on my left leg, while I was sleeping. When I woke up, I could not walk and was later taken to the girls hostel where the insurgents gathered us with the female students. They selected some of the female students and went away with them, while they left some of us groaning in pain from gun shot”.
Those were the words of 14-year-old Ibrahim Musa Lampo, a JSS 2 student of Federal Government College, FGC, Bunu Yadi, Yobe State who was one of the lucky survivors of the Boko Haram massacre on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of 43 students. The insurgents also burnt the hostels, classrooms and more than 40 houses during the attack.
Ibrahim who recounted his experience while groaning in pains was receiving treatment for gunshot injuries at the General Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu.
His mother, Hajiya Hauwa Lampo, who was sitting beside him on the hospital bed lamented the inability of government to protect the lives of the innocent students. The mother passionately appealed to the Federal Government to “provide adequate security for all unity schools in Nigeria, particularly in the north eastern region of the country by constructing a fence that will shield the students from intruders. And if the government can not deploy adequate security personnel, they should despatch sniffer dogs into the schools to patrol every nook and corner and this will go a long way in curbing the insurgency.”
Ibrahim’s father, Mallam Musa Lampo, an immigration officer was still in shock over the incident and simply said: “I have committed everything into the hands of God.”
Boko Haram attacks
Thousands of Nigerians from the troubled North eastern states are fleeing into Niger Republic as the Boko Haram attacks heightens fears in the region.
A source in the North-East, yesterday, said tens of thousands of people have gone to Niger Republic to escape a wave of attacks and bombings by Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is fighting to carve out an Islamic country from the northern states.
The government in Niamey has granted them refugee status, but United Nations workers say it has also banned the construction of formal camps, fearing any structures could encourage an even bigger influx — or even bring fighters over the border.
“We’re living on the charity and hospitality of locals and aid organizations,” said 28-year-old Umara. “It’s difficult to feed my family. We eat once a day, twice at best.”
A spokesman for Niger’s Interior Ministry was not immediately available for comment. But Hassane Ardo Ido, General-Secretary of Diffa province, said authorities feared militants might infiltrate the camps and use them as bases. “We are trying to handle the situation and stop any act that could hurt our security,” he said.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, country representative in Niger, Karl Steinacker, said Niamey was particularly worried because most of the refugees came from the Kanuri ethnic group, a stronghold of Boko Haram.
“The authorities are worried the Nigerian insurgency might spill over into Niger,” he said.
Meanwhile, condemnations have continued to trail the massacre of the students.
