A nerve-chilling disclosure on Monday in Ilorin, Kwara State, came from the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, that on the last count, the Boko Haram dreaded Islamic sect has killed about 3,000 people. Meanwhile, as Ihejirika was reeling out the whopping casualty figures from Boko Haram attacks, gunmen suspected to be members of the sect on Sunday struck again at a cattle market, Flour Mills area and Bolori ward, killing three persons in the separate incidents.

In the same vein, President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday called for a comprehensive regional strategy on counter terrorism that would aid in wiping out terror acts.

He made the call at the first regional counter-terrorism conference in West Africa, which opened yesterday in Abuja. President Jonathan, represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, also urged increased bilateral and multilateral co-operation for effective prosecution of the campaign against international terrorism.

Also, the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, on Monday alerted that the sect was increasing ties with other African extremist groups.

In a related development, the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) has expressed doubts over the commitment of the sect to dialogue with the Federal Government.

Ihejirika disclosed this while declaring open in Ilorin the third inter-division and headquarters map reading competition organised by the Nigerian Army Education Corps (NAEC).

He added that the casualty toll was high for a nation not at war, adding that the activities of the sect had adversely taken economic and psychological toll on the people and business in the northern part of the country.

The army chief said this while declaring open in Ilorin the third inter-division and headquarters map reading competition organised by the Nigerian Army Education Corps (NAEC).

Ihejirika who was represented by the General Officer, Commanding 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major Mohammed Abubakar, added that the current security challenges in the country required collective and extra efforts to tackle, but expressed optimism that the development would soon be a thing of the past.

He added: "The changing nature of threats to Nigeria's national security environment has manifested in the militancy, kidnapping, violent extremism and terrorism. It is a known fact that terrorism worldwide is characterised by extremism, violence, hatred, lack of respect for human dignity and constituted authority.

"The spate of bombings in parts of the North has necessitated the Nigerian Army to review its doctrine with a view to updating our training and operational procedures in order to fulfill our constitutional mandate. Success in this pursuit, therefore calls for renewed and concerted efforts and initiative."

An eyewitness and a resident of Flour Mills Area of Maiduguri metropolis, Nuhu Isa, said that gunmen came in two tricycles and opened fire on some boys playing football in a field on Sunday morning.

He said: "We had to run for safety, as the gunmen continued to fire shots into the air to scare people, before the soldiers repelled the attackers at about 9.00 a.m. on Sunday.

On casualties, he said: "I cannot tell you how many people were killed in the attacks, but one of the boys was shot dead on the field before the soldiers rushed to the scene."

In Bolori ward, gunmen in a Volkswagen Golf car also attacked a taxi driver at gunpoint and shot one of the passengers on the head at about 4. 00 p.m. on Sunday.

In another attack, a worker of the 7UP Bottling Company was also shot dead at the Maiduguri cattle market while off-loading crates of soft drinks in the evening.

An eyewitness told The Guardian that the gunmen ambushed the firm's vehicle while off-loading the soft drinks, and started shooting sporadically into the air and killed one of the workers.

The Borno State Police Command spokesman, Gideon Jibrin, yesterday in Maiduguri confirmed the incidents.

He said that police reports disclosed that three persons were killed in the attacks, but added that no arrest had been made yet.

President of CAN, Ayo Oritsejafor, told The Guardian at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of his church, Word Of Life Bible Church at the weekend in Warri, Delta State, said that while the association was still weighing the demands from the Boko Haram group, it was yet to see the sincerity of the sect.

He added that the conditions they gave did not prove they were serious for dialogue and ceasefire.

Oritsejafor, who also doubles as the President of Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria, (PFN) also noted that it would be difficult for any meaningful dialogue to come from the demands of the group, since according to him, it had not been ascertained if the group that called for dialogue was the real Boko Haram, adding that the major people that were expected to champion the dialogue were left out by the group.

He noted that the sincerity of the sect to dialogue and ceasefire was doubtful, as they had failed to stop their killings.