The remains of 7 hunters that died in Boko Haram terrorists bomb blast on Tuesday at Kayamla in Jere local government area were yesterday buried amidst tears in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
The funeral of the seven deceased hunters was carried out at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH ) before they were taken to Gwange cemetery for burial.
A source and a hunter who attended the funeral said they were on patrol along Kayamla route when one of the rear tyres of their Toyota Land Cruiser truck exploded.
The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said: “We thought it was a common tyre burst, but we later discovered it was a bomb blast. “While we were trying to change the tyre, we spotted some Boko Haram gunmen creeping towards us. We began to fire in their direction while calling for a backup. Soon, the Boko Haram terrorists fled and left some rustled herds of cows behind.
“Our backup team arrived and began to chase after the insurgents who had already gone far into the bush. As they were making their way back, the vehicle ran over a massive bomb that exploded and killed nine of them instantly, while nine others were injured.
Borno state commissioner of Youths and Sports, Sa’inna Buba, who was at the funeral confirmed the incident to newsmen. Mr Buba said they were saddened by the death of the gallant hunters who have sacrificed their lives to protect the people.
He said: “We evacuated the corpses and the injured victims to the hospital night. Seven of them died at the scene of the attack.
“We call on the federal government to support these hunters with better weapons and vehicles to enable the hunters to provide the needed support to the military.
“The hunters know the terrain better and they understand the tactics of the terrorists. If we don’t give support to the local hunters and vigilante, very soon they would be discouraged and the terrorists would overrun our towns again.”
Ahmed Satomi, a serving House of Representative member, representing Jere Federal Constituency was also at the funeral prayers.
Satomi said: “We have just buried seven hunters, and only God knows how many more would be buried again if the federal government of Nigeria continues to ignore the fact that we need a deliberate policy that will empower the youth vigilante to carry a better weapon that will end this fight.
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