At least 14 farmers were killed on Saturday in a Boko Haram attack near Pulka, a town in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State, officials said. Authorities fear the number of victims could rise as search operations continue.
According to Abba Shehu Timta, the political head of Gwoza district, the farmers were preparing their land for the upcoming planting season when they were ambushed. Troops and rescue teams are still scouring the surrounding areas for more bodies.
The attackers, believed to have launched the assault from a Boko Haram camp in nearby Vlei village, also injured four others during the raid. Pulka, located near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, has suffered repeated attacks by rebel groups.
Boko Haram and its splinter group, ISWAP, have stepped up attacks on rural workers in recent years, often accusing them of collaborating with government forces and local militias.
On Friday, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum expressed concern over ongoing “military setbacks” against insurgent groups entrenched in remote areas like the Lake Chad region, Sambisa Forest, and the Mandara Mountains.
Gwoza and nearby districts have been regular targets since 2014 when Boko Haram captured the town and declared it part of their so-called caliphate. Nigerian and Chadian forces reclaimed Gwoza in 2015, but Boko Haram fighters have maintained strongholds in the rugged borderlands.
In response, Nigeria established military bases across the region to counter the raids and protect civilians, particularly women who risk abduction while collecting firewood and fruits.
Since the insurgency began in 2009, the conflict has claimed over 40,000 lives and displaced around two million people, with the violence spilling into neighboring Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. A regional military coalition was formed to tackle the rebel threat.