Many persons especially the elderly have been feared dead after Boko Haram insurgents invaded four villages in the southern part of Borno State on Boxing Day.
The attack follows one carried out in a Borno village on Christmas Eve where a church was set ablaze.
It was learnt that the insurgents rode in at least nine Toyota Hilux vans, and they were first seen around Mandara Dirau at about 1pm.
They proceeded unchallenged through parts of villages identified as Debiro, Tashan Alade, Tirgitu, and Shaffa town shooting sporadically, looting food items, and setting houses ablaze, it was gathered.
The incident forced residents of Hawul and Shaffa local government areas to flee to nearby mountains for safety.
For fear of attacks, farmers in remote villages resorted to storing their harvested food in rented stores at the Biu Local Government headquarters.
