BORNO VIGILANTES GO ON OFFENSIVE KILLING 200 BOKO HARAMITES

Nigerians have started the process of taking on terrorist sect Boko Haram with residents of Rann town in Borno State attacking the insurgents and killing 200 of them in an angry reaction to their reign of terror.

Up until now, Boko Haram had cowed the local population in Borno State and residents of northeastern Nigeria, freely using the area as its base. Local people had turned a blind eye to the sect's reign of terror and been indifferent to it running training camps in the area but following the abduction of the Government Girls Secondary School Chibok schoolgirls, the mood has changed.

Exasperated with the endless terror unleashed upon then, local people have finally had enough and decided to take direct action to rid themselves of the menace. Early this morning, armed with just traditional fighting equipment and charms, the residents of Rann, the headquarters of Kala-Balge Local Government Area in the north eastern part of  Borno State, repelled a Boko Haram attack and killed 200 of them.

Apparently, about 300 insurgents stormed Rann and adjoining villages around 4am today but met resistance from the people who had knowledge of the impending attack. This is the second attempt by Boko Haram to attack Rann after trying it about month ago but were equally repelled then.

This time around, Boko Haram is believed to have succeeded in entering Rann where they killed some people and burnt some houses. However, the counter offensive was ferocious as locals were determined not to allow their town become a terrorist haven.

One local source said: "The people in Rann and its environs used traditional fighting equipment and charms to repel the attacks. They really confronted the attackers who were equally ready for fight.

“The villagers succeeded in protecting their dwellings from the attackers, killing about 200 members of the sect and many others escaped with serious wounds. Our people also recovered over 70 motorcycles that the attackers came with and collected two Hilux vehicles and an Armoured Personnel Carrier, while some of the attackers were captured alive.”

A state legislator from Central Borno State, confirmed the attack, pointing out that the locals had successfully repelled Boko Haram. At the Gamboru Motor Park along the Customs area in Maiduguri, some people that came from the area, also confirmed that the insurgents were defeated in Rann during the battle that lasted for several hours.

Kala-Balge lies along the shores of the Lake Chad and is few kilometres away from Gamboru town where suspected insurgents killed nearly 400 people last week. In that attack, Boko Haram destroyed over 300 vehicles, 650 motorcycles, dozens of residential houses, public buildings and the biggest market in the town.