No fewer than 50 people, including soldiers, were feared killed on Friday night when Boko Haram terrorists launched a fresh attack on Darul Jamal, a recently resettled community in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.
Residents said the insurgents stormed the village around 9 p.m. and operated until daybreak, targeting unsuspecting villagers and travellers.
Several of the victims were among resettled internally displaced persons (IDPs) previously housed at the Government Science Secondary School camp in Bama.
One source said that about 56 civilians and five soldiers lost their lives in the attack, though the exact casualty figure remains unclear. Another account claimed that many residents are still missing.
“Over 20 houses and 10 buses were also burnt down. Among those killed were seven drivers and six labourers from Bama and Maiduguri who were helping rebuild the village,” the source added.
A senior government official in Borno, who did not want to be named, confirmed that 59 people were killed and seven bodies have already been taken to Maiduguri for burial.
“It is disheartening. The terrorists operated for hours without resistance. I was told they even passed the night in the village. We need to wake up; the military must take the fight to them. We just lost 59 souls—it is sad,” the official lamented.
In a separate development, the Nigerian Air Force said its air component of Operation Hadin Kai neutralised over 30 Boko Haram fighters during coordinated airstrikes on Darul Jamal.
Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, NAF spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, noting that the strikes were conducted after reports of heavy insurgent attacks on troops in the area.
According to him, the aircrew identified fleeing terrorists after confirming the location of friendly forces and executed three successive strikes, killing more than 30 insurgents.
Reinforcement troops later arrived to secure the area.
The statement stressed that the operation underscored the effectiveness of joint air and ground missions in counterterrorism campaigns and reaffirmed the military’s commitment to dismantling terrorist networks, protecting communities, and restoring peace to the North-East.
