General

In northeastern Nigeria, armed extremists killed many people in two separate attacks earlier this week, according to security officials on Saturday. Gunmen ambushed a construction site in the town of Sabon Gari, Borno State, on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of at least 25 construction workers. A senior officer from the Borno State Police Command shared this information with The Associated Press but requested to remain anonymous due to restrictions on speaking to the media. Nigerian authorities often do not confirm the number of deaths in attacks for security reasons. “This is a tragic loss, and it clearly indicates that Boko Haram insurgents are responsible, as they have long opposed development projects in these regions,” the police official stated. Boko Haram, which began its violent campaign in 2009, aims to fight against Western education and enforce their extreme interpretation of Islamic law. The group has a splinter faction called the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which has also become active in Nigeria and neighboring countries like Niger. The United Nations reports that the violence has led to about 35,000 civilian deaths and displaced over 2 million people. Abdurrahman Buni, a senior member of the Civilian Joint Task Force—a volunteer group assisting the military against extremist groups—confirmed the death of at least 25 construction workers in the Thursday attack. He, along with the police officer, noted that extremists, possibly using armed drones, attacked an army base in the same town just hours earlier. The police officer reported that nine soldiers and two members of the civilian task force were killed in this base attack, while around 16 injured security personnel were taken for medical care after the intense gunfire. It remains uncertain whether Boko Haram or ISWAP was behind the base attack, as both groups are active in the area. Nigeria faces a complicated security crisis, with Islamic militants in the northeast and a rise in kidnappings for ransom by armed groups in the northwest and north-central regions in recent months.