Boko Haram Kills at Least 29 in Adamawa During Community Football Match

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents descended on two communities in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State on Sunday night, April 26, 2026, killing at least 29 people in one of the most brazen attacks the region has seen in recent memory. The death toll is feared to rise as emergency responders assess the full scale of the carnage.

The attack targeted Guyaku and Telabala communities while residents were gathered for a local football match. Heavily armed insurgents stormed the area and operated for hours, killing scores, razing homes, burning places of worship, and destroying motorcycles and other property. That the attackers had the time and space to operate for an extended period says something grim about the security situation in the area.

Guyaku shares a border with Sambisa Forest along the Adamawa-Borno federal highway — the same sprawling forest that has long served as a base for Boko Haram and its splinter factions. Communities along this corridor have been flagged repeatedly as among the most exposed in Nigeria.

A local leader, Aggrey Ali of Kumo Gombi, confirmed that residents were left completely “helpless” as the insurgents moved through the night. Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri visited the scene and described the attack as “tragic, barbaric, and unacceptable.”

A Night of Violence Across Three States

The Adamawa attack was not an isolated event. The same Sunday night, gunmen killed a pastor, his wife, and their two children in Gako Village, Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State. In Benue State, suspected herdsmen killed seven people in Logo Local Government Area. Three states, one night, dozens dead.

The scale of Sunday’s violence has added urgency to calls for a more aggressive and coordinated military presence across the North-East and Middle Belt. For the communities in Gombi burying their dead, the questions about what the federal government’s security strategy actually looks like on the ground are not rhetorical.

Sources: Vanguard, Platform Times, TheCable