The
death toll of the deadly Boko Haram attack in the Lake Chad region of
Nigeria has continued to increase as fresh reports continue to emerge.
At least 69 people died in a Boko Haram ambush of an oil
exploration team in northeast Nigeria, as three men kidnapped by the
jihadists made a video appeal.
Experts said the attack -- Boko Haram's bloodiest this year --
underscored the persistent threat it poses, despite government claims
the group is a spent force.
"So far the death toll stands at 69," said an aid agency worker involved in the recovery of bodies after the attack in the Magumeri area of Borno state on Tuesday.
The worker, who asked not to be identified because he was not
authorised to speak to the media, said 19 soldiers, 33 civilian militia
and 17 civilians were killed.
"The last body was recovered Friday in the bush in the Geidam
district of neighbouring Yobe state, which is several kilometres from
the scene of the ambush," he told a reporter.
"It shows the victim, who had gunshot wounds, died after
trekking a long distance. There could be more such victims in the bush."
Another source with knowledge of the rescue operation gave the
death toll as "70 or more" and also said it was unclear whether all the
victims had been accounted for.
The attack hit Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation staff.
"It's a confirmation of the boldness and reassurance that Boko
Haram has managed to gain over the last six weeks," said Yan St-Pierre,
from the Modern Security Consulting Group.
"They have been attacking more and more military outposts and
more military convoys. For them to go after NNPC personnel just shows
they don't fear any military reprisal.
"Basically they have managed to gain enough resources, enough material, to plan ambushes targeted towards high value targets."
- Video appeal -
News of the rising death toll came after Boko Haram published a
four-minute video in which three men identified themselves as being from
the University of Maiduguri.
The trio were part of a NNPC team on a mission to find commercial quantities of oil in the Lake Chad basin.
"I want to call on the acting president professor Yemi Osinbajo to come to our rescue to meet the demand," one of the men says in the video, which he said was shot on Friday.
He attributed the attack to the Islamic State-supported Boko Haram
faction headed by Abu Mus'ab Al-Barnawi, which has vowed to hit military
and government targets.
"They have promised us that if their demands are met they will
release us immediately to go back to the work we were caught doing," the man added.
There was no indication of where the video was shot but Magumeri is
some 50 kilometres (31 miles) by road northwest of Maiduguri.
University of Maiduguri spokesman Danjuma Gambo confirmed the identities
of the three kidnapped men in the video.
"They are our staff but one more is yet to be accounted for," he told a reporter.
Five members of staff from the university -- two lecturers, two
technologists and a driver -- were killed, vice-chancellor Ibrahim Njodi
said on Friday.
He told reporters the university had been hesitant to send staff with the NNPC team but had been assured about security.
Nigeria is searching for oil in the northeast to try to reduce its
reliance on supplies from the Niger delta, where militant attacks have
slashed production.
- Suicide bombings -
Kidnapping has been a feature of the Boko Haram insurgency, which
has killed at least 20,000, displaced more than 2.6 million and left
millions of others on the brink of famine.
Thousands of women and girls have been seized, to be married off to
fighters, used as sex slaves or suicide bombers, while men and boys
have been made to fight in the Islamist ranks.
The al-Barnawi faction differs from fighters loyal to Boko Haram's
long-time leader Abubakar Shekau in that it disagrees with the
indiscriminate targeting of civilians.
On Friday, two suicide bombers struck a camp for displaced people
in Dikwa, 90 kilometres (56 miles) east of Maiduguri, killing eight,
said local government official Rawa Gana Modu.
In Bama, 70 kilometres (45 miles) southeast of Maiduguri, three
young female suicide bombers were killed when their explosives detonated
prematurely on Thursday.
"A fourth bomber, an 11-year-old girl, was too frightened to pull
the trigger," said Babakura Kolo, a member of the civilian militia
group.
"She succeeded in removing her vest and sneaked into town. She was found and taken into custody."
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