Assailants invaded the Musari community during the night and silently entered homes whose residents were Christians. They killed their victims by slitting their throats while they slept. The attackers appeared to have selected homes based on the residents' Christian faith. The victims included a traffic police officer (traffic warden) and fourteen civilians
28 Dec 2012 · Musari, Maiduguri, Borno
Deaths
15
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
15
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Local residents confirmed 15 people had their throats slit, stating: The attackers came in and silently went into homes whose residents were all Christians and slit the throats of their victims. They killed 15 people
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
The use of knives and machetes instead of firearms in some of the killings was a deliberate tactical choice to delay the JTF response. Targeting families in their homes during a religious holiday was designed to maximize the "no safe place" narrative.
Trajectory
The Musari massacre capped off a December that saw several soft target hits. It demonstrated that while the JTF had secured the center of Maiduguri, the periphery remained highly porous. This tactical reality eventually led to the 2013-2014 strategy of digging trenches around the city of Maiduguri to prevent such "outskirt infiltrations.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier Boko Haram attacks targeting Christian civilians in residential areas around Maiduguri, including the 7 January 2012 Baga Road shootings, the 26 February 2012 Budum neighbourhood killings, and the 14 October 2012 Gwange church-exit attack, by identifying and executing Christian residents in their communities to intimidate religious minorities and accelerate sectarian displacement from insurgent-affected areas. The massacre also foreshadowed later mass-casualty assaults on civilian settlements in the northeast, including the 15 February 2014 Izghe village massacre, the 3 November 2013 Bama–Banki highway wedding convoy attack, and the 29 January 2015 Baga and surrounding villages destruction, where Boko Haram similarly targeted unarmed civilians to consolidate territorial influence and spread fear across vulnerable communities.
Pattern
Sectarian Mass Killings
Related — Targeted Killing
Fourteen Boko Haram gunmen on seven motorcycles stormed the remote village of Mairari. They targeted four specific homes, entering while residents were breaking their fast during the holy month of Ramadan. The attackers dragged four women from their homes and slit their throats. The victims were aged between 27 and 45. Local vigilantes assisting the military confirmed that the killings were targeted, suggesting the gunmen were specifically after the women's husbands .
Sheikh Ibrahim Birkuti, a prominent Wahhabi cleric known for his vocal and public criticism of Boko Haram’s extremist ideology, was assassinated outside his residence in Biu, Borno State. Two gunmen arriving on a motorcycle – Boko Haram’s signature tactical transport – opened fire on the Sheikh at close range before fleeing. A neighbour, Babagana Hanafi, told AFP: “A gunman riding a motorcycle stopped outside the house and brought out a gun from under his shirt and shot him twice at close range before fleeing.” Police confirmed the attack and blamed Boko Haram, noting that Birkuti had been one of the most prominent clerics to criticise the sect in Borno State.
A prominent Muslim cleric who advocated non‑violence and regularly spoke out against Boko Haram‘s extremist ideology was assassinated on 13 March 2011 in Maiduguri. Imam Ibrahim Ahmed Abdullahi was shot five times at close range by gunmen who jumped out of a sport‑utility vehicle as he sat outside his home, which was adjacent to his mosque. Witnesses said the attackers were members of Boko Haram. The imam, who knew the group’s former leader well and had warned him against violence, died in the shade of his mosque.