The District Head of Zabarmari area of Borno, Zana Bukar, has dismissed reports that an unidentified number of women and girls were abducted during last Saturday’s attack by Boko Haram.
Bibian Anekwe News recalls that Boko Haram Terrorist group on Saturday, November 28, 2020, beheaded 43 farmers in Zabarmari, less than 20 km from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The bodies of the slain farmers whose throats were slit were buried in a brief ceremony led by Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State.
The United Nations who earlier stated that 110 farmers were actually killed and not the 43, described the killings as the “most violent attack” targeted at civilians in 2020.
In a video on Tuesday, Abubakar Shekau, leader of a faction of the Boko Haram sect, claimed his group was responsible for the killing and said at least, 78 farmers were killed in the incident.
It was claimed in some reports that the insurgents also abducted a number of women and girls from the village.
But speaking to The Punch on Friday, Bukar said that no woman or girl from the community is missing.
He said, “No, no, we didn’t lose any woman or single lady from this community to the attack. All those affected were young males between the ages of 13 and 30. Though some of them were newly-weds, some with very young families; others were mostly school-age boys who were hired to harvest on the farm for some fee.
“We heard the rumors that some women were also killed but it is not true. The governor was here; we confirmed to him that those slain were all males. So, I don’t know where that rumor emanated from, but definitely not from our village.”
Also speaking, Musa Ibrahim, father of 18-year-old Usmanu Musa killed by Boko Haram, lamented the killing of his son who he described as the breadwinner of the family.
“Sincerely I feel pained by this death. This boy was my first child. He was the breadwinner for the family,” he said.
“He was always providing for his mother and other siblings from the little he made. And he was always with me, helping in running errands for me at my workplace.
“I was originally into fishing before the Boko Haram terrorists came and destroyed all my stock and rendered me poor for about six years now. I have not been able to go back to my fishing business. So, I took to buying and selling grains, especially rice, to make ends meet.”
