On this day, May 7 in 2013, suspected members of the radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram raided the northeastern town of Bama on Tuesday and killed 55 people.
According to the spokesman for the military Joint Task Force, Boko Haram gunmen killed 22 police officers, 14 prison officials, two soldiers and four civilians, while 13 of the group’s own members died.
Musa added that gunmen freed 105 prison members during the raid, which began at around 5am and lasted almost five hours.
Government offices, military barracks, and the police station in Birmingham were all completely destroyed by fire.
Northeastern Borno state’s small, outlying hamlet of Bama is where Boko Haram first began its revolt in 2009.
The primary danger to Nigeria’s stability comes from the Boko Haram group, its offshoots, including the Ansaru with ties to al Qaeda, and the related criminal organizations.
In a nation that is nearly equally divided between Christians and Muslims, Boko Haram seeks to build an Islamic state.
