ISWAP terrorists kill 11 in Borno community; reports of nine deaths nearby

At least 11 people have been killed in an attack by suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Pubagu village in the Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, residents and a local official have said.

The assailants also burnt a church during the attack, but did not destroy homes or loot property, according to the councillor representing the area, Usman Remirgo.

“Eleven people were killed. They burnt one church… they did not burn houses or shops, and they did not take anything,” Mr Remirgo told PREMIUM TIMES in a phone interview.

He said the victims were buried shortly after the attack, following a visit to the community by security personnel, local government officials and residents.

The chairman of Askira Uba Local Government Area, Mada Saidu, who visited the community after the attack, also confirmed the killings.

In a statement, Mr Saidu said the attackers, whom he described as Boko Haram insurgents, also burnt a church and several properties, while two persons sustained injuries and are receiving treatment.

Fresh reports of killings in the nearby community

Mr Remirgo also reported that nine people were killed in a separate attack in the neighbouring Mayolade community around the same period.

However, PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the Mayolade incident as of the time of filing this report.

The councillor said the attacks are part of a pattern of repeated assaults on communities in the Askira Uba axis, noting that Mayolade and another community, Wachirakabi, had been attacked within the past month.

Abductions reported in another community

In a related development, another credible source from Askira Uba LGA told PREMIUM TIMES that several residents from Lagunasara community, also in Askira Uba LGA, were abducted during a recent attack but were later released after paying nine million naira as ransom.

The incident, reported separately from the Pubagu and Mayolade attacks, suggests a widening pattern of violence across communities in the area.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the abduction and release.

Indiscriminate violence

According to Mr Remirgo, the attackers did not target victims based on religion or identity.

“They killed everyone they saw. It was not about Christians or anyone in particular,” he said.

Although a church—believed to be an Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (E.Y.N.) congregation—was burnt in Pubagu, he said the killings were indiscriminate.

No humanitarian response

Mr Remirgo criticised what he described as the absence of humanitarian intervention despite repeated attacks in the area.

“No one has come to assist us. Not NEMA, not any government agency. Only the local government chairman came to sympathise,” he said.

He added that residents are facing hardship and may require urgent support, especially in the event of displacement.

NEMA unaware, cites reporting chain
When contacted, an official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the North-east said the agency was not aware of the reported attacks.

“I’m not aware of the development,” the official said, explaining that incidents are typically reported through local government authorities to State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) before reaching NEMA.

The official added that not all incidents qualify for federal intervention and urged affected communities to channel reports through official structures.

Police are unable to confirm

Efforts to obtain confirmation from the Borno State Police Command were unsuccessful.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Daso Kenneth, said he would make inquiries but could not confirm the incident at the time of filing this report.

Attack ‘plausible but unconfirmed’ — intelligence brief

An intelligence assessment sought by PREMIUM TIMES described the reported attack as “plausible but unconfirmed,” citing the absence of independent open-source corroboration at the time of review.

The assessment, however, noted that the Borno–Adamawa border corridor remains an active theatre of ISWAP operations, with recent attacks on both military positions and civilian communities, a pattern consistent with the reported incidents in Askira Uba.

Rising insecurity in the border corridor

Security analysts say the Askira Uba area lies within a volatile corridor linking southern Borno to northern Adamawa, where ISWAP has sustained operations in recent months.

Residents say repeated attacks and delayed response from authorities have left rural communities increasingly vulnerable.(Premium Times)