Boko Haram fighters have beheaded at least forty farmers in Borno state in most grisly execution since the group's terror campaign against Nigeria in over a decade.
The terrorists also abducted an unspecified number of farmers during the attack.
They were ambushed by the terrorists on their way to their rice farms which they were harvesting before the surprise attack happened.
The attack occurred around Marrabati and Hammayya villages, near Zabarmari in Jere local government of Borno state on Saturday morning.
Civilian Joint Task Force sources say sixty of the farmers were gathered before the assailants shot at close range or beheaded their victims.
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It is not clear how many of the farmers were taken away, or how many were spared but a total of sixty persons were assembled before the bloodletting.
Sources cited in Channels TV's reporting say the location, which is a distance from the last Jere town with inhabitants, is a known stronghold of the insurgents.
Local government elections were conducted in the state on Saturday, with voter apathy witnessed in some parts of the state.
It is not clear if the ill-fated farmers cast their vote before proceeding to meet their deaths.
This horrific incident has renewed Nigerians' demand for replacement of the country's security chiefs -- some of whom tenure has since lapsed -- for incompetence.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, reacting to the incident said, "Heartbreaking. Words fail me. The lives of our citizens should be worth much more than this. The rejig of the nation's security architecture is long overdue. May their souls rest in peace and may their families be comforted."
I Gave Military Chiefs Everything They Needed - Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari had meanwhile, reacted to the incident, decrying the deadly carnage inflicted on Borno residents by Boko Haram insurgents, saying it should not have happened as he had given needed resources to the armed forces.
At least 43 farmers were reportedly killed after Boko Haram terrorists ambushed rice farmers in Zabarmari, Jere Local Government Area, this weekend.
Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said the president sympathised with those affected by the attack, lamenting that he had given enough support to the armed forces to protect civilian lives and territory.
The president has long rejected calls to sack service chiefs under whom insecurity had worsened since he appointed them upon assumption of office in 2015.
Instead, Mr. Buhari has continued to postpone the retirement of the service chiefs, including Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai, under whose command the Nigerian Army has conducted some of the most horrific rights abuses since the Civil War.
FULL PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT:PRESIDENT BUHARI CONDEMNS AS INSANE, BOKO HARAM KILLING OF FARMERS IN BORNO STATE.
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed grief over the killing of farmers on rice fields at Zabarmari, in Jere Local Government of Borno State, describing the terrorist killings as insane.
“I condemn the killing of our hardworking farmers by terrorists in Borno State. The entire country is hurt by these senseless killings. My thoughts are with their families in this time of grief. May their souls Rest In Peace.”
President Buhari said the government had given all the needed support to the armed forces “to take all necessary steps to protect the country’s population and its territory.”
Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
November 28, 2020.
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