SUSPECTED Boko Haram sect members struck at about 8pm on Friday, killing Mallam Shettima of the Nigeria Security Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and a resident at the Sulemanti and Dala wards of Maiduguri, Borno State, respectively.
The Joint Task Force (JTF) at the weekend had offered to reward any member of the public that has useful information that could lead to the arrest of the sect's leader, Abubakar Shekau and other sect commanders.
An eyewitness said the attackers, who arrived Shettima's house in a tricycle, shot him in the head and chest in the presence of his wife and children.
He said: "We saw two people in a tricycle. They asked for the house of Mallam Shettima who was attached to the Borno State House of Assembly. After they entered the house, we heard three gunshots. We initially thought it came from soldiers who were patrolling the area. Minutes later, some children and women started wailing."
In Sulemanti ward, an unidentified resident was also shot dead in a separate incident.
Both attacks follow the killing of five children, whose throats were slit, in three houses during the early hours of Thursday.
This killing led to a cordon of by men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on Friday and deployment of soldiers and tanks to the area.
A senior JTF official said the deployment was to prevent further attacks in the area and also apprehend armed terrorists.
The Joint Task Force placed a N290m reward for information leading to the arrest of Shekau, 14 sect commanders, and four others.
The successful arrest of Shekau will fetch N50m, while a lucky informant could smile to the bank with as many N10m as the number of commander nabbed.
This is contained in a statement by JTF spokesman, Lt. Col Sagir Musa, Saturday, in Maiduguri, the state capital.
According to the statement, the sect leader and the commanders are wanted in connection with terrorist activities, particularly in the North-East zone of the country.
It reads in part: "Anyone with information that will lead to the arrest of any of the listed terrorists or more, will have rewards as follows: the Shurra-five committee members fetch a reward of N25 million each; the leader, Shekau, fetches a maximum reward of N50 million. The other committee members are: Habibu Yusuf (aka Asalafi); Khalid Albarnawai; Momodu Bama and Mohammed Zangina.
"The Boko Haram commanders on the wanted list of the JTF include Abu Saad, Abba Kaka, Abdulmalik Bama, Umar Fulata and Alhaji Mustapha (Massa) Ibrahim, Abubakar Suleiman-Habu (aka Khalid), Hassan Jazair, Ali Jalingo, Alhaji Musa Modu, Bashir Aketa and Abba Goroma. Three other commanders placed on the wanted list of the task force: are Ibrahim Bashir, Abubakar Zakariya and Tukur Ahmed Mohammed."
The statement said that anybody with relevant information should contact the GSM phone numbers: 09064174066, 070855464012 and 08154429345.
The JTF noted that the identity of informants would be protected.
