Among the 15 confirmed dead, seven were farmers beheaded while working on their farmlands, and eight other civilians were killed in their homes. The incident occurred just days after the Borno State government launched a large-scale "return-to-farm" programme, providing approximately 300 tractor trucks to encourage farmers to return to their fields. The attack has been described by officials as a "sad occurrence and a setback" to peace-building and agricultural recovery efforts in the region.
15 Jun 2023 · Molai, Jere, Borno
Deaths
15
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
15
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Local vigilante groups (Civilian-JTF) mobilized and reached the scene late on Thursday, recovering the bodies and evacuating them for burial. An Islamic funeral service was held on Friday morning, and the victims were buried thereafter. The Borno State government, through official Sainna Buba (former commissioner for youths and sports, now supervising security and protection of local farmers), confirmed the incident and described it as a setback to peace efforts. Nigerian soldiers reportedly reviewed a large number of farmers in the area on Friday and issued authorization cards for gaining access to their land. However, farmers told the Associated Press that security is only provided on the highway and not in crop-growing areas several kilometers away from main roads.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Punishment for alleged collaboration, intimidation, and economic warfare through food insecurity.
Trajectory
Insurgents weaponize hunger by attacking farmers, ensuring dependence on insurgent-controlled supply chains or humanitarian aid.
Cycle notes
This incident mirrored earlier Boko Haram attacks on farmers and rural livelihoods, including the 13 May 2017 killings of farmers in Borno during planting activities, the 19 November 2017 Dimge (Mafa LGA) farmers’ execution involving beheading, the 31 August 2019 Gidan Waya (Maiduguri outskirts) beheading of farmers in their fields, and the 28 November 2020 Zabarmari (Jere LGA) massacre of rice farmers, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram deliberately targets agricultural workers—often through beheading and close-range execution—to disrupt food production, deter return-to-farm initiatives, and weaponize hunger as a tool of territorial control and economic warfare.
Pattern
Farmers Targeting
Related — Targeted Killing
Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram shot and killed a policeman in Damaturu, Yobe State. The officer was ambushed while walking home from work in the evening. The assailants fled immediately after the shooting.
Unidentified gunmen on motorcycles rode through the Dumburum/Rukudawa road and attacked members of the local vigilante group who were on routine patrol providing security to traders at the weekly market. The attackers killed all 10 vigilante members on duty. In a brutal display, they removed the private parts of some victims and burnt all the motorcycles used by the vigilante group. The gunmen did not attack any of the traders at the market, indicating they came specifically to target the vigilantes
Three gunmen arrived on a motorcycle and opened fire on their victims who had just parked outside a house. The attackers killed three people—two men and a woman—while a fourth person (a woman engaged to one of the victims) escaped unhurt. The victims included a couple who were engaged to be married, along with friends helping with their wedding plans