In Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, on Saturday, 17 herders were murdered and their livestock were taken, according to two commanders of self-defense militias organized by the government, who spoke to AFP on Monday.
According to the sources, fighting started when jihadists assaulted a group of herders moving their livestock in a grazing pasture close to the village of Airamne in the Mafa district. According to militia leader Babakura Kolo, seventeen herders were murdered in these clashes and all their livestock were captured by the Boko Haram rebels who began the raid. The herders made an effort to fight back, but the invaders outnumbered them and had more effective weaponry.
The attack was carried out by these jihadists from their bases in the neighboring Gajiganna woodland. Another militiaman, Ibrahim Liman, concurred and stated that here is where Boko Haram terrorists had sought sanctuary after being mostly pushed from their stronghold, the Sambisa Forest, by the offensives of the Nigerian army and the rival jihadist organization Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP).
In 2016, Iswap was created following a breakup with Boko Haram. It is affiliated with IS and has taken over as the main jihadist organization in northeast Nigeria since rival Boko Haram commander Abubakar Shekau was killed in an encounter with Iswap militants in May 2021.
A growing number of civilians are being targeted by Boko Haram and ISWAP, including loggers, farmers, and herders, whom they accuse of spying for the army and neighborhood militias against them. However, assaults are typically avoided for herders who consent to graze on areas held by the jihadists in exchange for paying a levy.
According to the UN, the 13-year-old conflict in northeast Nigeria between the government and jihadists has resulted in the displacement of two million people and the deaths of 40,000 people.
Nigerians will choose a new president on February 25 to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, who is not running for re-election after serving two terms as required by the Constitution due to the country's pervasive insecurity, especially the jihadist insurgency in the northeast.