Boko Haram Attacks Borno’s Chibok LG, Kills 12

A new wave of terror swept over Gartamawa, a village in Chibok LGA of Borno State, as Boko Haram militants unleashed their fury on innocent people. Twelve lives were lost and two more were wounded in the bloody attack.

Chibok LGA, located 125 kilometres away from the state capital Maiduguri, is a southern Borno region that has suffered greatly from the horrors of terrorism for over a decade. Many of its residents have been kidnapped by the ruthless Boko Haram insurgents.

The Borno State Police Command verified the attack to Channels Television on Wednesday, stating that it occurred on Monday evening.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Nahum Daso, said that the attackers arrived in the village in Hilux vans and motorcycles, firing wildly at the people. He did not give more details about the attack, but eyewitnesses said that the militants came with rifles and shot at the mourners.

“The militants invaded the village of Gatamarwa around 5 p.m. on Monday, during the New Year celebration. They were armed with AK-47 rifles and rode on motorcycles and Hilux vans. They shot at the mourners who were coming back from Gatamarwa.

“They also attacked another Tsiha village near Shikarkir, killed three people, and kidnapped a young lady. They burned houses and stole their food,” the eyewitness said.

This incident happened a month after the militants destroyed four electric towers along the Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway, cutting off power to Maiduguri, which had been restored eleven months ago after a similar attack in 2021.

The jihadists have expanded their attacks beyond their stronghold in northeast Borno State, the epicentre of the country’s 14-year-long Islamist militant conflict.

They have targeted farmers, loggers, herders, and fishermen more frequently, accusing them of being spies and informants for the military and militia fighting them.

In 2020, Boko Haram killed 76 farmers from Zabarmari in nearby Koshobe village—a massacre that set a new record of brutality.

The militant attacks in Nigeria’s northeast have decreased since the peak of the conflict, when they controlled towns and large areas of land. However, they still raid rural areas, attack military bases, and ambush convoys.

The insurgency crisis has claimed 40,000 lives and displaced around two million people from their homes in the northeast since it started in 2009, according to the UN.