Gujba college massacre

Last updated
Gujba college massacre
Part of Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
Location Gujba, Yobe State, Nigeria
Date29 September 2013
TargetGujba college
Deaths44 [1]
Perpetrators Boko Haram

On 29 September 2013, gunmen from Boko Haram entered the male dormitory in the College of Agriculture in Gujba, Yobe State, Nigeria, killing forty-four students and teachers. [1]

Contents

Background

Boko Haram was founded in 2002 to fight against the de-Arabization of Nigeria, which the group maintains is the root cause of criminal behaviour in the country. [2] From 2009 to 2013, violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency resulted in 3,600 deaths, with the victims including 1,600 civilians. [3] [4] In mid-May 2013, the federal government declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States, as it aimed to end the Boko Haram insurgency. [3] The resulting crackdown has led to the capture or killing of hundreds of Boko Haram members, with the remainder retreating to mountainous areas from which they have increasingly targeted civilians. [4]

Since 2010, Boko Haram has targeted schools, killing hundreds of students. A spokesperson said such attacks would continue as long as government continued to interfere with traditional Koran-based education. More than 10,000 children are no longer able to attend school due to attacks by the Boko Haram. [2] Roughly 20,000 people fled Yobe State to Cameroon during June 2013 to escape the violence. [4]

Attack

Gunmen from Boko Haram entered the college at 1 a.m. local time and opened fire on the students while they were asleep. [5] Only the male sleeping quarters were targeted. [6] Forty-two bodies were recovered by Nigerian soldiers while eighteen injured were transported to Damaturu Specialist Hospital. Two of the wounded later died. [1]

According to one survivor, the attackers drove into the college in two double-cabin pickup all-terrain vehicles. Some were wearing Nigerian military uniforms. A survivor said that nearly all of those killed were Muslims, as is the majority of the student body. This attack followed a 6 July 2013 attack at Mamudo outside Damaturu that killed 29 students and a teacher, some by burning alive, which left many schools in the area closed, and other attacks in the week following killed 30 more civilians. Boko Haram's name means "Western education is sinful". [1]

After the attacks, 1000 other students fled the college. The militants appeared to be based in the Gwoza Hills, finding shelter in caves from repeated military bombardments. An engagement with the Nigerian military left 100 militants and 16 soldiers dead. In Gwoza town, where some of the victims were being treated, militants drove away medical officers from the government hospital and set fire to three public schools, and the town was reported to be deserted. More than 30,000 people from the region fled to Cameroon and Chad. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Damaturu is a Local Government Area and the capital city of Yobe State in northern Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Damaturu Emirate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram</span> Central-West African jihadist terrorist organization

Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, is an Islamist militant organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. Boko Haram was the world's deadliest terror group during part of the mid-2010s according to the Global Terrorism Index. In 2016, the group split, resulting in the emergence of a hostile faction known as the Islamic State's West Africa Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwoza</span> LGA and town in Borno State, Nigeria

Gwoza is a local government area of Borno State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Gwoza, a border town "about 135 kilometres South-East of Maiduguri." The postal code of the area is 610.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram insurgency</span> Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the militant Islamist and jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict is taking place within the context of long-standing issues of religious violence between Nigeria's Muslim and Christian communities, and the insurgents' ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic state in the region.

On 6 July 2013, Boko Haram insurgents attacked the Government Secondary School in the village of Mamudo in Yobe State, Nigeria and killed at least 42 people. Most of the dead were students, though some staff members were also killed.

Timeline of the Boko Haram insurgency is the chronology of the Boko Haram insurgency, an ongoing armed conflict between Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. Boko Haram have carried out many attacks against the military, police and civilians since 2009, mostly in Nigeria. The low-intensity conflict is centred on Borno State. It peaked in the mid 2010s, when Boko Haram extended their insurgency into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">February 2014 Buni Yadi massacre</span> Massacre in Yobe State, Nigeria

On February 25, 2014, fifty-nine boys were killed at the Federal Government College of Buni Yadi in Yobe State, Nigeria. The twenty-four buildings of the school were also burned down as a result of the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but according to media and local officials the Islamist militants Boko Haram are suspected to be behind the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping</span> Kidnapping of female students in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Prior to the raid, the school had been closed for four weeks due to deteriorating security conditions, but the girls were in attendance in order to take final exams in physics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwoza massacre</span>

The Gwoza massacre was a terrorist event that occurred on 2 June, 2014 in the Gwoza local government district, Borno State near the Nigerian-Camerounian border.

From 20 to 23 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in Borno State, Nigeria. 91 women and children were kidnapped in the attacks and more than 70 people were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June 2014 Kaduna and Abuja attacks</span>

Between 23 and 25 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in central Nigeria. On 23–24 June, gunmen attacked a number of villages in Kaduna State, killing around 150 people. The attack was blamed on Fulani tribesmen. On 25 June 2014, a bomb exploded at the Emab Plaza in the national capital of Abuja, killing at least 21 people. In response to the bombing, the Nigerian military raided two militants camps on 26 June, killing more than 100 people.

The following lists events from 2014 in Nigeria.

The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damaturu prison break</span> Prison break in Nigeria suspected to be orchestrated by Boko Haram

The Damaturu prison break was an attack on the Jimeta prison at Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State in the northeastern Nigeria by 40 gunmen suspected to be members of the terrorist group Boko Haram. The attack is thought to have been a bid to rescue imprisoned members of Boko Haram. About 40 prisoners escaped from the prison; seven inmates and one prison warden died. The escaped prisoners were largely members of the insurgent.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Niger raid</span> ISIL raid on two Nigerien towns

The 2015 Niger raid was an unsuccessful assault on the Nigerien towns Bosso and Diffa, perpetrated by Boko Haram. The incident occurred on 6 February 2015, marking the first major Boko Haram incursion into Niger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 West African offensive</span> Coalition offensive against Boko Haram

Starting in late January 2015, a coalition of West African troops launched an offensive against the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Basin campaign (2018–2020)</span> Series of battles and offensives in the Chad Basin

The Chad Basin campaign of 2018–2020 was a series of battles and offensives in the southern Chad Basin, particularly northeastern Nigeria, which took place amid the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency. The Chad Basin witnessed an upsurge of insurgent activity from early November 2018, as rebels belonging to the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram launched offensives and several raids to regain military strength and seize territory in a renewed attempt to establish an Islamic state in the region. These attacks, especially those by ISWAP, met with considerable success and resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The member states of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), namely Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon responded to the increased insurgent activity with counter-offensives. These operations repulsed the rebels in many areas but failed to fully contain the insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mainok attack</span> Boko Haram attack in Northeast Nigeria

On 25 April 2021, a large group of ISWAP insurgents killed 33 soldiers in Mainok, a town 36 miles west of Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria.

On April 23, 2021, militants from the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP) stormed the town of Geidam, in Yobe State, Nigeria, killing several civilians and sparking a battle with Nigerian armed forces.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Adamu, Adamu; Faul, Michelle (29 September 2013). "Boko Haram blamed after attack on Nigerian college leaves as many as 50 dead". The Globe and Mail. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 McElroy, Damien (6 July 2013). "Extremist attack in Nigeria kills 42 at boarding school". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Nigeria school attack claims 42 lives". The Australian. AFP. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Adamu, Adamu; Faul, Michelle (6 June 2013). "School attack kills 30 in northeast Nigeria". Newsday. AP. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  5. ↑ {{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/09/gunmen-storm-nigerian-college-201392910646471222.html%7Ctitle=Tens killed in Nigeria college attack|agency=[[Al Jazeera English|Al JazeeSeptembera=29 September 2013|access-date=29 September 2013}}
  6. ↑ "Islamic terrorists kill at least 40 students in attack on Nigerian college". Fox News. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.

11°30′08″N11°56′04″E / 11.5022°N 11.9344°E / 11.5022; 11.9344

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.