The Religion of Peace strikes again.
Maiduguri — Environmental officers yesterday recovered 87 more corpses of travelers killed by suspected Boko Haram gunmen during an attack on Maiduguri-Damaturu road near Benisheik town in Borno State on Tuesday.
This was in addition to 55 bodies earlier picked up on Wednesday, officials of the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) told journalists during a visit by Governor Kashim Shettima to the scene of the violence.
Heavily armed insurgents laid siege on Benisheik, Kaga Local Government Area on Tuesday evening, killing people and setting buildings ablaze.
They also blocked the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway, three kilometers away from the town, sorting out and slaughtering dozens of travelers.
Apart from the 142 travellers, also killed in the attack were 2 soldiers, 3 policemen and 14 villagers, bringing the total death toll to 161.
Yesterday, Shettima visited Benisheik where he condoled with the people and offered compensation to victims of the violence.
Saidu Yakubu, a senior BOSEPA official, who briefed Shettima at the highway killing spot, later told journalists “87 bodies were recovered in the bush and our people are still searching for more.”
Environmental assistant Abdulaziz Kolomi said, “Apart from the dead bodies recovered today (Thursday), we collected 55 on Wednesday and the fact is that we did not go deep into the bush where I strongly believe that many people have fallen there.”