A group of Boko Haram insurgents gathered nine persons who had gone out to fetch firewood in the bush around Bulamari village in Mafa LGA. The insurgents tied the victims' hands behind their backs and shot them in the head. They killed eight of them, all young men under the age of 20, and deliberately spared one individual—a 15-year-old boy named Babakura—and instructed him to return to the town to report the attack
22 Jun 2023 · Bulamari, Mafa, Borno
Deaths
8
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
8
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Governor Babagana Zulum visited the affected communities on Friday (the following day) to condole with bereaved families and assess the situation. He directed security agents to remain undeterred by the resurgence of terror activities and advised farmers to go to farms by 6 am and close by 5 pm. Zulum also announced that the government was "refining strategies at combating insecurity" and would soon establish effective agro‑rangers consisting of police, army, and civil defense personnel to deal with remnants of insurgents. He urged residents to be security‑conscious and avoid going "far away where there is danger."
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
The victims were young men collecting firewood, a daily survival activity for many in the region who have been displaced and lack access to modern cooking fuel. This reflects how the insurgency has weaponized basic livelihood activities, turning routine tasks into life‑threatening risks. The deliberate sparing of a 15‑year‑old boy to "deliver the message" is a calculated psychological warfare tactic designed to maximize community terror, demonstrate insurgent control, and deter future civilian movement in the area. This tactic—killing most but sparing one as a messenger—has been documented in multiple Boko Haram attacks over the years.
Trajectory
This attack is notable for its consistency with Boko Haram's established signature tactics rather than representing an evolution. The combination of targeting firewood collectors, execution‑style killings (hands tied behind backs, shot in the head), and the deliberate sparing of a single messenger mirrors tactics documented in multiple previous attacks. This suggests a standardized operational procedure rather than tactical innovation.
Cycle notes
This incident mirrored earlier Boko Haram executions of rural civilians—particularly firewood collectors and farmers—combined with the deliberate use of spared survivors as messengers, including the 13 May 2017 killings of farmers in Borno fields, the 19 November 2017 Dimge (Mafa LGA) farmers’ execution where victims were restrained and killed at close range, the 31 August 2019 Gidan Waya (Maiduguri outskirts) beheading of farmers, and the 13–14 April 2023 Buni Gari (Yobe State) two-phase attack, where an initial victim was used to lure others before a mass execution, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram conducts controlled, execution-style killings of rural economic actors while deliberately sparing one individual to deliver a warning and amplify psychological impact.
Pattern
Loggers Targeting
Related — Targeted Killing
On the afternoon of Nigeria‘s 51st Independence Day anniversary celebration, suspected Boko Haram gunmen targeted and shot dead an Igbo butcher at the popular Baga fish market in Maiduguri, Borno State. The attack occurred in broad daylight during peak business hours. The butcher’s assistant was also killed in the same targeted attack, with witnesses reporting that the gunmen used a Kalashnikov rifle hidden under their flowing robes.
In an event that fundamentally altered the trajectory of Islamism in Nigeria, Sheikh Ja'afar Mahmud Adam, the country’s most influential Salafi scholar, was assassinated while leading the early morning (Subh) prayers at the Indimi Mosque in Kano. Gunmen in Western attire entered the mosque and opened fire on the Sheikh at close range, killing him and a member of the congregation.
Two suspected Boko Haram militants on Sunday shot a 55‑year‑old Muslim cleric, Malam Dala, dead at his residence in Zinnari near London‑Ciki, Maiduguri, Borno State. According to eyewitnesses, the killers parked their Peugeot 505 car at a nearby farm and, around 11 a.m., walked to the cleric‘s house through the farm. One of them pulled out a rifle hidden under his gown and fired several shots at Dala’s chest and head. The two men then returned to their car and drove away. The cleric, who had received a written threat from the gunmen some months earlier, had reportedly taken the matter lightly.