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Suspected Boko Haram members on Thursday killed six people and burnt down the EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria), also known as Church of the Brethren in Nigeria in Pemi, a ward in Chibok local government area of Borno State.
The insurgents attacked the village on Christmas eve when most of the villagers were preparing for the celebrations.
Six cars and five houses around the church were burnt, some of the villagers told TheCable on Friday morning.
“The insurgents came in around 5:30 pm through Gogombi.
“They came in batches of two. The first came in with a motorcycle while the other came in heavy vehicles. As soon as they entered the village, they started shooting sporadically and moved towards the EYN church.
“Then they set it on fire. They also torched six cars and five other buildings around the church. Some of us ran to the bush, but unfortunately six people were killed in the attack. Christians were to observe Christmas prayers in the church this morning,” one of the villagers said.
It was learnt that the military arrived at the scene hours after the insurgents had left.
“Soldiers from 117 task force battalion in Chibok were mobilised, but they got here around 8pm, probably because of the distance as Pemi is about 17 kilometres away from Chibok,” another source said.
He added that things are now under control as the military is trying to secure the Chibok area in general.
On Tuesday, the Department of State Services (DSS) had raised an alarm over “plot to bomb some places” during Yuletide.