Approximately 12 Boko Haram insurgents on motorcycles attacked farmers working in their fields. The attackers opened fire sporadically, killing farmers and injuring others.
18 Jul 2020 · Boftari, Chibok, Borno
Deaths
2
Injured
10
Kidnapped
5
Total casualties
12
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Army spokesman Sagir Musa was not immediately available for comment at the time of reporting
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
To enforce a starvation siege by preventing farmers from producing food.
Trajectory
By July 2020, the Shekau faction transitioned from large-scale town raids to micro-terrorism—using small, highly mobile motorcycle units to kill individual farmers, effectively turning the fertile lands around Chibok into dead zones where no one dares to plant.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier attacks including 22 April 2018 – Gamboru attack targeting forest workers collecting firewood, 27 August 2019 – Wajirko killings of construction workers after prior warnings, 27 July 2019 – Badu Kuluwu massacre targeting civilians engaged in communal activity, 09 June 2020 – Goni Usmanti massacre involving attacks on herders and rural livelihoods, and 13 June 2020 – multi-village raids disrupting farming and trading communities, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram targets civilians engaged in livelihood activities—particularly farming and resource gathering—to enforce economic disruption, instill fear, and create localized “no-go” zones that undermine food production and deepen humanitarian vulnerability in northeastern Nigeria.
Pattern
Armed Assault
Related — Armed Attack
Boko Haram gunmen carried out coordinated attacks in Daura town, Katsina State, targeting banks and police stations. In the ensuing shootouts, four gunmen, three soldiers, and two policemen were killed. The attackers attempted to loot banks and overrun police facilities but were repelled after heavy fighting
Armed men killed the village head in Babanna community, Borgu LGA, Niger.
Armed insurgents launched a coordinated attack on the town, abandoning their vehicles at the outskirts before infiltrating on foot to avoid detection. The gunmen positioned themselves across key locations, including the busy main market, before striking. In the violence that followed, the town's district head was abducted, two civilians were killed, and a young girl was injured.