Nigeria: At least 81 killed by Boko Haram jihadists Attack in a Village · Global Voices

At least 81 people were killed and many others are missing after a new jihadist attack on the northeast, according to local authorities. Jobe State police reported that approximately 150 members of the Boko Haram organization, armed with guns and grenades, attacked the village of Mafa, Nigeria, around 16.00 on Sunday afternoon. “We believe it was retaliation for the murder of two Boko Haram terrorists by the village’s self-defense groups,” said police spokesman, Abdulkarim Dungus. Jihadists have often accused Mafa residents of helping the army in its operations against the organization. “At least 81 people were killed,” said Bulama Jalaluddin, the spokesman for the president of the local government of Tarmua, where Mafa is located. The perpetrators “set fire to houses, most of which had straws and those hiding inside were burned alive,” said a local government official, who asked not to reveal his name. This source previously talked to a Mafa resident who escaped the attack. According to Jalaluddin, 34 victims were buried in Babangida and 30 more remain in Mafa. “15 victims had already been buried by their own when the soldiers arrived in Mafa. Unspecified number of victims from neighbouring villages were transported and buried by their relatives before the army arrived,” he added. The police have not announced an account. But she takes for granted that Boko Haram killed “many people and burned down shops and houses”. The villages of Yobe State, where farmers and growers mainly reside, are often looted by the jihadists of Boko Haram and the rival organization, the Islamic State in West Africa. The attacks have increased in recent years as jihadists accuse residents of giving information to the military and local militias about their movements. In late October 2023 police, with the help of villagers, killed many jihadists near the Kayaya community, after its inhabitants received threats. In retaliation, jihadists killed 37 people within two days in two villages of the State. 20 of these victims were returning from the funeral of the first.