Maiduguri, Nigeria | AFP | Tuesday 5/26/2015 - 17:42 GMT
A weekend attack by Boko Haram in the northeast Nigerian town of Gubio left 37 people dead, with more than 400 buildings destroyed by fire, local vigilantes said Tuesday.
The civilian fighters gave the toll to Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, who visited the town to assess the devastation.
"The terrorists killed 37 people, including two young boys," said Bukar Mondama, the leader of the vigilantes who briefed the governor.
Scores of Islamist militants in trucks and on motorcycles stormed Gubio, 95 kilometres (60 miles) north of Maiduguri, Borno's capital, on Saturday night.
Mondama said the vigilantes were caught off guard as they were playing football when the strike was launched.
"They destroyed over 400 structures, including eight mosques, four schools, the local governments secretariat, 22 vehicles and several motorbikes," he added.
His account was supported by another vigilante, Modu Yusuf, who also briefed Shettima.
No death toll was given in initial reports of the attack that emerged on Sunday but locals described Boko Haram as having had "a field day".
The governor offered compensation to the victims, vowing to rebuild homes and schools.
"You should persevere... terrorists will never succeed. We will defeat them," he told survivors of the attack.
Last November the rebels invaded Gubio but were repelled by troops and vigilantes guarding the town.
Boko Haram, which wants to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, has been pushed out of captured towns and territory since February by Nigerian troops with assistance from Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
The six-year conflict has claimed at least 15,000 lives and made more than 1.5 million people homeless.
str-bs/phz/pvh
© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse
