A resident told Vanguard: "Two gunmen joined our Mosque for the early morning prayers and shot a worshiper at close range. He died on the spot.
"Two hours after the incident, a local Islamic cleric was trailed to another mosque by separate gunmen, who opened fire on the worshippers.
"The worshippers had to run for safety. But the cleric was shot dead before men of Joint Task Force, code-named Operation Flush II arrived at the scene and condoned off the area to prevent further attacks and killings."
He said the killings in Maiduguri had spread and continued to claim lives in Biu.
Confirming the incidents in Maiduguri, yesterday, spokesman of Borno State Police Command, Mr. Gideon Jibrin, said it was true that gunmen attacked two separate Mosques in Biu.
The attacks and killings, he said, occurred Monday night and in the early hours of yesterday, when the police headquarters received reports from the Biu Police Area Commander, indicating that two persons, including an Islamic cleric, were killed by unknown gunmen, suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect.
He said no arrests had been made, adding that providing information to the police will help in apprehending the culprits.
Jibrin urged residents to continue to cooperate with JTF and police, by providing information on the hideouts of criminals, who are terrorising innocent citizens, including soldiers and policemen in the state.
… as Suswam reads riot act to warring communities
BY Peter Duru
MAKURDI— Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has threatened to arrest and prosecute any paramount ruler in the state, who through commission or omission, encourages or fuels communal conflicts in any part of the state.
The governor handed down the warning in Otukpo, where he held a reconciliatory meeting with stakeholders and paramount rulers of the warring Ojantele and Ijekwu communities in Otukpo and Obi local government areas.
He said: "What has happened in your communities that led to deaths and destruction of lives and property is, to say the least, unacceptable and condemnable.
"It is more painful because we hardly hear of such sad developments in this part of the state; and that is the more reason why you must all talk to your people to desist from further escalating the crisis.
"I must also caution that if the fighting continues, we will not hesitate to apprehend the paramount rulers of the affected communities and if necessary, we will also not hesitate to depose them."
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