Boko Haram fighters stormed a village in northeast Nigeria and killed two people, a local resident and a security source said Monday, as the military again maintained the jihadists had been defeated.
The attack happened on Sunday evening at Alau-Kofa village, some 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.
“Boko Haram came to our village last night at about 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) firing guns and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades),” Bulama Bukar, who lives in Alau-Kofa, told AFP.
“Two people were burnt alive and the whole village was burnt, along with our food.”
Bukar, whose father was shot in the leg during the attack, said the jihadists “specifically came to steal our cattle” but were forced to abandon the herds when soldiers arrived.
“Last Wednesday they attacked the village, killed three people and took away 50 cattle. And now they came back,” he added.
READ: Buhari’s visit will end herders, farmers clashes – Al-Makura
A security source in Maiduguri, who asked not to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed Bukar’s account.
“It is part of the fightback strategy by the terrorists, who are facing mounting pressure from the military,” he said.
Nigeria’s military said last week they had cleared the Sambisa Forest in Borno state of Boko Haram fighters — just over a year after making a similar claim.
– Human shields –
Theatre commander Major General Nicholas Rogers was reported as saying in Nigeria’s media on Monday that the Islamic State Group affiliate was “completely defeated”.
But the security source warned against premature triumphalism, despite recent successes.
“Saying they have been completely defeated is pushing it too far,” he said.
“They have indeed been pushed out of Sambisa. They have relocated their camps to Dubur and Yuwe on the rear fringes of Sambisa.”
But the source said troops remained cautious about hunting down Boko Haram factional leader Abubakar Shekau, as he was using hostages as human shields.
They include some of the schoolgirls abducted from the Borno town of Chibok in April 2014 and female police officers seized in an ambush last year.
“They don’t want to harm them, which is why they are limiting aerial offensives,” he added.
In January, troops from Nigeria and its neighbours Cameroon, Chad and Niger got as far as Lagara village, across the river from Shekau’s hideout in Parisu.
But they were forced to abandon the mission because of landmines and the discovery of the human shields, the source added.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")