30 killed in Nigeria highway attack

Abuja – At least 30 people, including a bridegroom and his family members, were killed in an attack by gunmen who laid ambush along a highway linking Nigeria’s northeastern states of Adamawa and Borno, security and other sources said Sunday.

Bodies of slain victims littered the Firgi Highway located in Michika local government area of Adamawa state Saturday, when other road users plied the route after the incident, Xinhua quoted a security official as saying.

“The sight of bullet-riddled bodies of other victims of the massacre was one that drew tears,” said Luqman Rabiu, a commuter bus driver who assisted in conveying bodies of the victims.

According to Rabiu, most of the victims were returning from a wedding ceremony in Adamawa state when the gunmen killed them.

Bodies of the victims were later deposited at a state-run hospital in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, he added.

A source at the health facility confirmed that 30 corpses were received into the hospital morgue Saturday evening.

There has been no confirmation of the attack by either local authorities or the militant sect of Boko Haram, which has recently suffered a deadly blow by the military in the volatile northeastern region of Nigeria.

Exactly two weeks ago, more than 10 people were killed by suspected members of the sect in Borno state which borders Cameroon.

The Boko Haram sect has proved the biggest security threat in the west African country since launching the insurgency in 2009. It seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law into the into the constitution and declares war against the Western education.