Olayomi Koiki
YOBE, Nigeria – Dozens of residents in Mafa village of Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State, North-East Nigeria, have reportedly been killed by Boko Haram terrorists.
According to local newspaper, Daily Trust, corpses of 37 villagers have been evacuated.
Sources told Daily Trust that the remains of the victims were moved to Babbangida General Hospital ahead of mass burial which will take place by 10 am.
Sources from the affected community told Daily Trust that at least 87 people were killed by the terrorists.
“We can categorically say that they killed at least 87 people. We could not show you the remains of the victims because some of them died in the bush, even the military failed to find them.”
“So far, 37 corpses are in Babbangida General Hospital after military evacuated them from the affected community while the decomposed corpses would be buried at the scene,” sources said.
Boko Haram terrorists were said to have killed many villagers, mainly farmers, and set houses and shops ablaze at Mafa.
Sources told Daily Trust that the insurgents attacked the village around 4pm when residents were returning from their farms.
The spokesman of the Yobe State Police Command, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed the attack, but noted that details were still unclear due to the network failure in the affected area.
“We cannot yet confirm the exact number of casualties, but the attack occurred around 4 p.m. in Mafa. The insurgents arrived on over 50 motorcycles, setting shops and houses on fire and killing several people. They also left behind some fliers with Arabic inscriptions,” Abdulkarim said.
Yobe State Deputy Governor, Hon Idi Barde Gubana, will lead top government officials to attend the burial at Babbangida Emir’s palace, headquarters of Tarmuwa LG.
Special Adviser to the Yobe State Governor on Security Matters, Brigadier-General Dahiru Abdulsalam (Rtd), also confirmed the attack.
He said military personnel had been deployed in the area and that normalcy had been restored.
– Insecurity and violence in Nigeria –
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Since the start of 2024 civilians have faced intensified violence across Nigeria, and near-daily attacks by armed groups resulting in kidnappings and other abuses against civilians.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.