Nigeria: Boko Haram Fighters Gun Down Farmers in Borno

What the report says

Suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked farmers in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State, northeast Nigeria, killing 15 people and abducting three others, according to Daily Trust’s report distributed by AllAfrica. Local sources said the assault happened on Wednesday in farming areas around Ala, Gumna and Musune wards, near the council headquarters, as residents were harvesting crops.

The article said the first reports reached the community Wednesday evening, but bodies were not fully recovered until Thursday morning. A police spokesperson in Borno, DSP Kenneth Nahum Daso, confirmed the death toll and said authorities were trying to establish the location of the missing people. The report also quoted a relative of one victim as saying the farmers were forced down and shot at close range.

Community members later helped recover the bodies and carry out burials in line with Islamic rites, the report said. The incident underscores the continuing risk faced by farming communities in Borno, where insurgent attacks have persisted despite military operations in Nigeria’s northeast.

Amnesty International separately condemned the killings and called for stronger protection for vulnerable civilians in the region. That response reflects broader concern from rights groups about attacks on non-combatants, though the article’s core account focuses on the deaths, the missing farmers and the local police confirmation.