Boko Haram Massacre: 147 farmers buried, Amnesty Intl. says

A mass burial has been held for 147 farmers and fishermen massacred by Boko Haram on January 12 at Dumba near Baga in Borno State, Amnesty International confirmed on Thursday.

The death toll is far higher than the initially reported figure of 40, revealing the staggering extent of the attack.

“Yesterday 147 were buried at Dumba. It is confirmed,” Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, told Pluboard Friday. “After the attack Boko Haram fighters aborted attempts to retrieve the bodies and bury them. But yesterday the burial was done at Dumba.147.

He said there had been gun battle since Sunda as security operatives tried to access the area to retrieve the bodies, suggesting more bodies may be recovered.

Horrific

The armed group reportedly targeted the victims for defying a farming ban imposed in areas under its control. Amnesty International said the terrorists rounded up farmers, separated the men, and executed them at close range. Those who fled were pursued and killed, leaving many injured and others still missing.

“Boko Haram must be held to account for its years of atrocities, including war crimes,” the global rights group wrote on X.

Attempts to recover bodies immediately after the attack faced deadly reprisals, witnesses said. Boko Haram ambushed soldiers and civilians dispatched to retrieve the dead, resulting in further casualties.

The federal government has not commented on the death toll or the circumstances surrounding the mass burial. Efforts to reach Borno State police authorities were unsuccessful.

President Bola Tinubu released a statement after an earlier attack in which six soldiers were killed, mourning the fallen personnel.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, described the killing of farmers as “horrific.”

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Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast since 2009, has increasingly targeted farmers, fishermen, and herders around the Lake Chad region, accusing them of espionage or violating imposed bans. Attacks have continued despite the government’s claims the group has been defeated.

Groups like Amnesty International has repeatedly documented atrocities committed by both Boko Haram and Nigerian security forces during the conflict, which has displaced over 2 million people, according to the United Nations.

The violence continues to exacerbate Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis, where millions remain dependent on aid amid ongoing insecurity.