THE Nigerian Army and Police Force have remained silent over reported killings of about 40 farmers in Kwashebe Zamarmari axis of Jere Local Government Area, Borno State.
A BBC report says the deceaseds were attacked, tied and beheaded by the Boko Haram insurgents while they were busy harvesting rice on their farms.
The incident which occured Saturday morning had also generated reactions among many Nigerians who expressed grief over the attack.
“I’m stuttered,” Jamilu Haruna tweeted on social media. “God, what is this?” @Crispy_vick, another social media user reacted.
“These madness needs to stop honestly… North was a nice place to visit before but I can’t even go to Jos.,” @NsukkaBoi also tweeted.
However, no official statement has been released by both the Army and the Police.
Sagir Musa, Spokesperson of the Army was contacted by The ICIR but he did not respond to a text message sent to his line.
Repeated calls to Edet Okon, Police Spokesperson in Borno State was not responded to. Text message sent to his line to clarify the information and ascertain the exact casualty figure, if the incident actually occurred was not replied to.
The incident is one of several attacks carried out by the insurgents since about 10 years of its assault on residents in the North-East.
Scores of casualties have been recorded over the years with over 2 million people displaced. While some have taken refuge in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, others are still missing. The UN says the violence has also led to the displacement of about 1.4 million children in the country and beyond.
Though, the federal government claimed to have technically defeated the insurgents, killings are recorded on regular basis including ambush of security personnel.
Olugbenga heads the Investigations Desk at The ICIR. Do you have a scoop? Shoot him an email at [email protected]. Twitter Handle: @OluAdanikin