Boko Haram kills 14 in Borno on Christmas day

Suspected Boko Haram militants attacked Kimba village in Borno state on Friday night and killed 14 persons.

President Muhammadu Buhari had said the insurgents had been “technically defeated” while Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, said “they can no longer attack”.

But the militants, mounting bicycles, launched an attack on Kimba and razed the village before leaving – without any response from the Nigerian army.

Vigilantes told a news agency that not a single house was left untorched in the 10pm raid on Christmas day.

The villagers fled to nearby Biu town and were admitted to the overcrowded camp of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Buhari had set a December 31 deadline for the routing of the insurgency and Lai Mohammed, the information minister, said the cut-off date had been “largely” met, describing the remnant fighters as “hungry and sick”.