Borno Farmers Killings: Boko Haram Claims Responsibility For Zabarmari Massacre

Militant group, Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the attack that killed almost 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari village located in Jere local government, Borno state.

In addition to this, on Tuesday, 1st of December, 2020, they admitted to orchestrating the attack that killed 22 farmers last month.

The group claimed the attacks were a revenge on farmers for arresting its members and handing them over to the Nigerian military.

Shekau’s claims corroborates Hamidu Bala, a resident of Zabarmari, and a member of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), a Borno government-established task force against banditry, who said a group of farmers recently disarmed a lone Boko Haram member and handed him over to the local security operatives.

Dozens of mourners surrounded about 43 bodies, as they were buried on Sunday.

Reports also has it that roughly 10 women have gone missing since the attack.

Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has reached to the current issue, describing it as “insane”. United Nations Humanitarian coordinator, Edward Kallon said he was “outraged and horrified” at the inhumane treatment directed at Citizens of Nigeria this year. The operatives of the Civilian Joint Task force (CJTF) on Monday recovered at least 35 more decomposing bodies in the area that were buried on the spot as a result of the “rot”.

According to the governor of the state, Babangana Zulum; “in one side, they stay at home and may be killed by hunger and starvation, on the other, they go out to their farmlands and risk getting killed by the insurgents”.

A presidential spokesman, Shehu Garba insists that the farmers did not get a military clearance before resuming farming activities in the area. He expresses that the government is sad about the tragic incident, and stated that the villagers did not seek military advice before exposing themselves to “a window that the terrorists have exploited”.