Teenage gunmen kill business mogul, three security officials, seven others in Maiduguri

The Maiduguri killings occurred in three separate incidents.

Gunmen on Thursday shot dead a Maiduguri-based merchant, Abubakar Girigiri, at his warehouse in the Bolori area of Maiduguri, Borno State.

A witness told newsmen in Maiduguri that the gunmen came to the warehouse on foot, pretending to be customers before shooting him.

The witness said “a group of four teenagers arrived the warehouse on foot and met Girigiri, 58, attending to his business.

“After a short while, two of them brought out guns from their trousers and shot him at close range,” the witness, who identified himself as Modu Lawal, said.

Mr. Lawal added that the businessman died on the spot.

“We tried to rush him to the hospital for help but he died before we could do anything,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Borno, Gideon Jibrin, confirmed the story but said the police were yet to get full details of the incident.

Mr. Jibrin also confirmed the killing of seven persons in Jere Local Government Area of the state by gunmen.

“The police is trying to get the full details of the report, so we can unravel the mystery behind the killings.”

The Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order also confirmed the killing of three security men in the early hours of Thursday at the Ruwan Zafi area of Maiduguri.

The JTF Spokesman, Sagir Musa, in a statement in Maiduguri, stated that the task force was already after the suspected killers.

“This is to confirm that three security men were killed in the early hours of the day by suspected members of the Boko Haram group.

“Efforts are on to apprehend the killers,” Mr. Musa said.