Nigeria College Shooting: Islamists Slaughter 50 Sleeping Students

Up to 50 students have been killed following a shooting by Islamist gunmen at a college in Nigeria, in the north-eastern Gujba district. Most of the students were shot as they slept.in the dormitories of the college.

The shooting, which took place at the College of Agriculture in Gujiba, was allegedly carried out by the militant Islamic group Boko Haram who are currently battling to overthrow the present government in Nigeria, in order to create a fully Islamic state.

A hospital source told Reuters that 26 dead bodies had been taken there. Other sources from the college itself, said that they believed the death toll was more like 50, as security forces continue to recover bodies within the campus.

Back in June the Boko Haram gunmen carried out two deadly shooting attacks at schools. One on the outskirts of Maiduguri which killed nine children and a second in which 13 students and teachers were slaughtered at a school in Damaturu.

The Boko Haram group hold extremist views, mainly aimed at western culture. Their name translated into English means “Western education is forbidden.” Their former leader, Abubakar Shekau, was allegedly killed by the Nigerian military in August.

The latest attack by the militant group on students sleeping in their beds comes after the recent Nairobi mall shooting at the hands of another militant Islamic group, Al-Shabaab. The attacks are connected in that Al-Shabaab also wish to minimize western influence in the region and to establish Sharia law in Africa.

It is not clear at this time if the gunmen who perpetrated the attack at the college have been found as the local army and police authorities sweep the area in search of them.