Massacre at fake checkpoint as Boko Haram slit throats of travellers

Militants from the Nigerian terrorist group Boko
Haram disguised themselves as soldiers and set up a
checkpoint, at which they slit the throats of 19 people
who stopped.

Since 2010, more than 1,700 people have been killed in
attacks by Boko Haram, which means "Western education
is forbidden." Photo: AFP/Getty Images
Harriet
Alexander
By Harriet Alexander
10:41PM BST 20 Oct 2013
Adamu Mallam knows that he is lucky to be alive. The
Nigerian trader, travelling through the north east of the
country, came across what looked to be an army
checkpoint. But when he drew up and stopped his truck,
he was ordered out and made to lie down – realising
quickly that the men in military uniform were not soldiers,
but members of the terrorist group Boko Haram.
"They made me lie face down on the ground. I was next to
be killed," said Mr Mallam. "I heard a man close to me
screaming. They slaughtered him with a knife."
Mr Mallam was saved when the militants received a phone
call, and all sped off on their motorbikes – setting vehicles
ablaze as they left.
"I suspect they were alerted to a security presence so had
to flee," another trader, with Mr Mallam, told Reuters.
"That call saved our lives."
The attack, on the road near the town of Logumani, 19
miles from the border with Cameroon, is but the latest in
the long list of atrocities carried out by the Islamist militant
group – whose name translates as "Western education is
forbidden."

Boko Haram, fighting to establish Sharia law in the north
of Africa's most populous country, has stepped up the
number and scale of attacks in the past two months, with
hundreds of killings reported.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of
emergency in the area in May, pouring in hundreds of
extra troops.
But the insurgents are far from defeated and they have
begun using the new tactic of fake checkpoints to spread
more fear. Suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed 159
people in two roadside attacks in northeast Nigeria last
month, also involving fake checkpoints.
Violence by the group is estimated to have cost more than
3,600 lives, including killings by the security forces.
Mr Mallam's story of Sunday's attack was backed up by
another passenger, who told AFP news agency his name
was Buba.
"We were asked to get out of our vehicles and lie face
down by nine men dressed as soldiers who blocked the
road around 5am," he said.
"They shot dead five people and went about slaughtering
14 others before someone called them on the phone that
soldiers were heading their way.
"They abandoned the rest of us and sped into the bush on
their motorcycles," added Buba, who was shot in the leg.
He said the attack bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram.
"We knew they were Boko Haram from their appearance.
Soldiers don't wear beards but some of the gunmen were
bearded," he said. "Everyone in this area knows Boko
Haram is on the prowl, raiding villages and attacking
vehicles.
"It has become a common occurrence."