Africa (Commonwealth Union) _ Nigeria’s decade-long insurgency took another deadly turn on Friday night when Boko Haram militants stormed Darul Jamal village in Borno State, killing more than 60 people, including seven soldiers, in one of the bloodiest attacks in recent months. Survivors said the assault unfolded around 8:30 p.m., with gunmen shooting indiscriminately, torching homes, and destroying property in a community that had only just begun resettling after years of displacement.
Others who had survived the massacre described scenes of horror. “We had alerted the military for three days that Boko Haram were gathering around our town, but nothing was done,” said Babagana Mala, who fled with soldiers to Bama, 46 kilometres away. “They overpowered the soldiers and fled with us.”
At least 63 soldiers and newly repatriated civilians died in internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps, Mala reported. The death count reached 70 by Saturday morning, said Darul Jamal’s traditional leader, who was clearly upset, with some more residents unaccounted for in the bush. “They went from house to house, killing men and abducting women with them. Almost every household is affected,” he said, struggling to keep back his tears.
The violence spilt over into humans’ lives. More than 20 houses and 10 buses were torched, and seven drivers and six construction workers who were part of rebuilding the town were among those killed.
The raid emphasises the ongoing vulnerability of Borno’s resettled communities, where thousands of IDPs have been welcomed back by authorities amidst persisting insecurity. Resettlement, the argument runs, has exposed people to militant attacks without adequate security assurances.
Babagana Zulum, the governor, visited the zone on Saturday to commiserate with victims and assess the damage, a source in security affirmed. The police and military, however, declined comment for now. Experts note that while efforts by the government to counterinsurgency have been stepped up, Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), continue to exhibit deadly capabilities while civilians are caught in the middle.
The Darul Jamal assault is the latest reminder of the human cost of Nigeria’s protracted insurgency, a conflict that has driven millions from their homes, stretched the military to the breaking point, and left much of the North-East haunted by the cycle of bloodshed and hesitant returns. For its survivors, the terror is compounded by the gall of betrayal: care was taken for granted, and lives were lost in a location to which they had only just begun referring to as home again.
