Seven members of a newly constituted vigilante group in Ngelzarma town, Fune Local Government Area in Yobe State, North-East Nigeria, have been killed by unknown gun men.
Witnesses said the vigilante members were holding an inaugural meeting at the Ngelzarma Motor Park when the gunmen attacked and killed seven out of 10 of them.
The incident reportedly occurred around 9:30pm Monday.
Ngelzarma is about 40 km west of Damaturu the state capital and has been witnessing severe attacks by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram.
In an effort to curb the incessant attacks, the community had constituted a 10-man vigilante group to assist security agencies in curbing the situation.
The chairman of Fune Local Government Area, Alhaji Digma Gana who confirmed the incident to Channels Television in Damaturu on the telephone said seven members of the group were killed as three others narrowly escaped.
He explained that the hoodlums terrorising Ngelzarma town and environs always took refuge in the bush during day time only to sneak back to town at night for their attacks.
He called for more security around the town to forestall a recurrence.
The spokesman of the Joint Task force (JTF) in the state, Eli Lazarus, also confirmed the incident and appealed to the public to give security agencies timely information at all times.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, neither has there been any arrest made.
The bodies of those killed in the attacks were buried around 12:30midday on Tuesday at the Ngelzarma cemetery.