Boko Haram slaughtered Borno farmers for cooperating with Army

The Abubakar Shekau-led main faction of Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the recent massacre of rice farmers in Borno State.

At least 43 farmers were killed by terrorists during a devastating attack in Jere Local Government Area of Borno on Saturday, November 28, 2020.

The attack has led to widespread outrage condemning the government's failure to provide security for local communities in the terrorism-ravaged northeast region.

In a video obtained by HumAngle, a commander of the Shekau faction said the farmers were killed for cooperating with the military.

The masked commander said the farmers arrested one Boko Haram fighter and handed him over to the military.

"You think Allah will forget what you have done to our brother," he said.

He further warned that those who spy on the terrorist group and collaborate with the authorities will meet a similar fate.

Over 1,200 people were killed in terrorist attacks in Nigeria in 2019, most of them by Boko Haram [IEP] Pulse Nigeria

Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South - APC) said on Tuesday, December 1 that at least 67 farmers were actually killed on Saturday, and not 43 as earlier reported.

He said residents are still scouting for and finding more corpses of those slaughtered by the terrorists.

Boko Haram has killed over 30,000 people and displaced millions in the restive northeast region since its insurgency escalated in 2009.

Overall, deaths from terrorism in Nigeria are now 83% lower than at their peak in 2014, according to the 2020 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report published last week, but Boko Haram killings increased in 2019 over the previous year.

The Islamic sect was ranked as the second deadliest terrorist group globally in 2019 ahead of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and Al-Shabaab, and only behind the Taliban.

Nigeria remains the third most-affected by terrorism across the world, a position it first assumed in 2015 after dropping from second place.