At least 40 Nigerian students were killed in their sleep on Sunday as
suspected members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram opened fire in a college’s
dormitories in the middle of the night.
Rescue workers and family members
gather to identify the shrouded bodies of students killed following an
attack by Islamist extremist on an agricultural college in Gujba,
Nigeria.
The gunmen also torched classrooms during the attack on Yobe State College of
Agriculture in the far north-east of the country, officials said.
The incident follows a spate of similar attacks by the al-Qaeda linked
extremist group, who have become notorious for attacks on schools and
universities, which it regards as a symbol of Western culture.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is a sin”, has carried out gun
and bomb attacks across Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north and the capital,
Abuja, killing thousands of people since 2009 in its campaign to establish
an Islamic state in Nigeria.
Yobe State, where the agricultural college is located, is one of three
currently under military control after President Goodluck Jonathan declared
a state of emergency throughout the north-east of the country in mid-May
following an escalation in violence.
Military spokesman Lazarus Eli confirmed that the attack was carried out by
“Boko Haram terrorists”, who entered the school and opened fire on sleeping
students at around 1.00am on Sunday.
