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Boko Haram Militants Kill Up to 50 Nigerian University Students

Categories: Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria, Breaking News

Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram [1] opened fire on students at the College of Agriculture in Yobe state, gunning [2] down dozens of students aged 18 to 22 while they slept in a dormitory.

According to the Associated Press, up to 50 students were killed, and the militants also torched classrooms during the assault.

Boko Haram is a jihadist militant terrorist organisation based in the northeast of Nigeria, northern Cameroon and Niger. Since 2001, the group have actively launched attacks in Nigeria. This is a timeline (though not exhaustive) of Boko Haram's death toll [3] in the country:

  • December 24, 2003: Christmas Eve attacks in Kannama and Geidam in Yobe State
  • September 21, 2004: Attack on Panshekara Police station, Kano
  • September 21, 2004: Attack on Bama and Gwarzo Police Stations
  • December 31, 2007: Attack on Presidential Hotel Port/Harcourt
  • July 26-30, 2009: Launch of mass uprising with attack on a police station in Bauchi that spread to Kano, Yobe and Borno states
  • September 7, 2010: Attack on a prison in Bauchi and freeing numerous prisoners including BH members.
  • October 6, 2010: Assassination of ANPP leader, Awena Ngala in Maiduguri
  • December 24, 2010: Christmas period bombing in Jos killed 38
  • October 9, 2010: Assassination of Muslim cleric Bashir Kashara and one of his students in Maiduguri
  • December 31, 2011: Mogadishu Assassination of ANPP gubernatorial candidate Modu Fannami Gubio and 8 others in Maiduguri
  • June 6, 2011: Assassination of Muslim cleric, Ibrahim Birkutu in Maiduguri
  • June 16, 2011: Bombing of Police Force Headquarters in Abuja
  • August 26, 2011: UN Building Bombing in Abuja
  • September 22, 2011: Attack on Maiduguri jail to free hundreds of prisoners
  • December 20, 2011: Dozens killed in Maiduguri shootings
  • December 25, 2011: Series of bomb attacks on Christmas day in Niger and Plateau States killed dozens
  • January 22, 2012: Multiple bomb explosions and attacks in Kano on Police facilities and security agency offices: death toll 215
  • April 9, 2012: Easter Sunday explosion in Kaduna. Death toll 38

In May 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency [4] in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa which had been most hit by the terrorist attacks. The Nigerian president vowed that: 

…whoever they may be, wherever they may go, we will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice. No matter what it takes, we will win this war against terror.

Nonetheless, this vicious massacre of innocent children in their sleep threw the Nigerian blogosphere into mourning. 

Obi Asika, the chairman of SocialMediaWeek Lagos, lamented: 

Mark Amaza, a public commentator, was livid:

Journalist Abang Mercy recalled a similar Boko Haram death spree in July 2013:

Nnodim Blossom, an author, blogger and compère, offered a prayer for the dead:

 Henry Okelue questioned: 

  Opeolu Abiodun asked the question on many minds:

  Borrowing the words of Nigerian writer, Chiagozie Nwonwu wrote: