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Survivors and witnesses of an attack on a marriage convoy in Borno state, northern Nigeria have confirmed that gunmen killed over 30 people in an ambush including the groom.

The attack happened on 2 November on the notorious Bama-Banki road when the marriage party, including friends and relatives of the groom, was making its way back to their state capital Maiduguri after the ceremony in Michika, in nearby Adamawa State.

The driver, who did not wish to be named, said lots of the victims appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.

“It was a gory scene and most of the victims were brutally murdered by the attackers. My passengers and I were visibly shocked once we met the dead bodies lying by the highway,” he said.

Army and police officials in the community weren't immediately available for comment. But a protection source who described the incident as “brutal and callous” said the bodies have been taken to a hospital in Maiduguri.

Violent attacks aren't uncommon in northeastern Nigeria, where the army has launched an offensive to end an insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists.

Barely a week after some suspected Boko Haram terrorists launched an attack on a security post along Bama- Banki- Firgi road in which they went away with some security patrol vehicles after setting the entire place ablaze, another group of terrorists suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents blocked a convoy of a bridegroom with his invited guests to a wedding in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa state, killing over 30, including the groom.

Our correspondent gathered from a reliable source that the groom, his friends and family associates from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital went to the wedding Fatiha in Michika town, where the wedding was performed successfully; but luck run out of them as they were ambushed by a group of suspected terrorists killing over 30 of them.

Bama- Banki –Firgi federal highway along the junction is about 40 kilometres away from Cameroon Republic, 100 kilometres to Maiduguri and 26 kilometres to Gwoza Local Government area of Borno State, which is one of the mountainous areas suspected to be an enclave of terrorists who fled from the Sambisa Forests during the offensive military raids after the declaration of state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa on May 14, this year.

A motorist who did not want his name mentioned told our correspondent that, “ I drove from Adamawa- Michika – Bama- Maiduguri road with my passengers, but I have to thank God because when we reached a place along the Firgi area, we saw a lot of dead bodies killed by gunshots and some were even slaughtered beside the road. In fact, my passengers advised me that we should make a u-turn to Michika, but I summoned courage and told them that God is in our control.”

Another security source and a Hospital source in one of the federal hospitals in Maiduguri said, “ We have received over 30 dead bodies of people suspected to be those coming from a wedding Fatiha where most of them wore wedding uniform (Anko, in Hausa) on Saturday evening.
Nationalmirroronline