A mass funeral prayer has today being conducted for over 80 farmers killed by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Mafa village of Tarmuwa LGA, Yobe state.
The victims are mostly farmers who were killed by the terrorists in a retaliatory attack on Sunday.
Bulama Bukarti, a London-based conflict researcher quoted some sources as saying the attack was carried out as a retaliation because the villagers are allegedly providing intelligence to the military, which had led to the killing of several insurgents last month.
According to him, Boko Haram had issued an ultimatum on 30 August, ordering the villagers to leave, adding that despite this explicit threat, no security personnel were deployed to protect the community, leaving them utterly defenceless.
“Their only “crime” was helping the security forces. It is this sense of fear of retaliation and abandonment that is discouraging communities in the affected areas from assisting the military”, he tweets.
