Police confirm 15 killed in attack on farmers in Borno, three missing

Fifteen farmers and firewood gatherers have been killed in an attack in Borno State, police said, as a search continues for three people reported missing.

The attack took place around Ala and Musune wards in Marte Local Government Area. Local sources told Punch and Vanguard that 18 people had gone to their farms and surrounding areas, but only 15 bodies were recovered and buried on Thursday.

Borno police spokesperson Nahum Daso confirmed the attack on Friday. He told Punch that 15 people had been killed and that efforts were ongoing to establish the whereabouts of those still missing. Police said details remained sketchy.

The accounts differ on when the killings occurred. Punch and Vanguard reported that the victims were ambushed on Wednesday evening, while an Amnesty International statement quoted by both newspapers dated the killings to Thursday, October 1.

Local sources quoted by Punch described the victims as young men, married men and elders who farmed or gathered firewood. They alleged that suspected Boko Haram members ambushed the group, bound the victims and shot them at close range. Community members later retrieved the bodies and buried them according to Islamic rites, the sources said.

Amnesty International condemned the killings in a statement on Friday. It said the victims were residents who had ventured into the bush to gather firewood to sell or use for cooking, and called on Nigerian authorities to take immediate measures to protect vulnerable communities in the region.

Daso said the police would provide further information once they had completed gathering details of the attack.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard