At least 43 farmers were killed by Boko Haram on Saturday 28 November in northeastern Nigeria as residents of the region went to the polls to elect their local representatives and advisers. This tragedy has therefore plagued the first vote in 13 years in this region, which has been hit by a jihadist uprising, which has left 36,000 dead and two million displaced since 2019.
as reported from Lagos, Liza Fabbian
“The whole country is being harmed by these senseless killings,” Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday night, “condemning the killings of these peasants devoted to their work by terrorists.”
Early in the morning, this Sunday, November 29, the governor of Borno State attended the funeral of the peasants, murdered on Saturday in his fields by the men of the Boko Haram group.
In front of his lifeless bodies, wrapped in white cloths, the governor reminded the painful fate of the people of the region who must face the jihadist threat every time they go out into their fields to try to feed their families.
Saturday’s attack took place in a rice field just ten kilometers from the town of Maiduguri. Forty-three lifeless bodies were found at the scene, all with their necks cut, but the number of deaths could be even heavier, according to authorities. In fact, several peasants are still missing and believed to be kidnapped by the jihadists.
Back to a risky everyday life
The humanitarian crisis, a consequence of the conflict that has plagued northeastern Niger for more than ten years, has worsened further in recent months due to poor harvests and traffic restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to a lack of financial resources, the Nigerian authorities are now encouraging the displaced people living in camps around Maiduguri and completely dependent on food aid, to return to their villages and resume cultivation of their fields, despite the risks.
► To read also: Boko Haram is a significant inconvenience ten years after its appearance
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