Survivors of a deadly attack by Boko Haram militants on worshippers at a mosque in Mafa village, located in the Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State, have recounted their terrifying experience. They credit their survival to divine intervention, describing the assault as a gruesome and unprovoked attack.
Mafa is in close proximity to Shekau, the ancestral home of the late Boko Haram leader, Sheikh Abubakar Shekau. Last Sunday, insurgents stormed the village around 4 p.m., opening fire on worshippers who were concluding their Asr prayers. Before the assault, they reportedly separated the elderly and herders from the main congregation, a witness said.
According to sources, the attack was a retaliatory strike. Security personnel, in collaboration with vigilantes, had recently raided a Boko Haram hideout, killing a commander and other fighters responsible for terrorizing Mafa and nearby areas.
On Tuesday, the Deputy Governor of Yobe State, Idi Barde Gubana, led a delegation of government officials, religious, and traditional leaders to Babbangida, the local government headquarters, to oversee the burial of 34 victims recovered and transported to General Hospital Babbangida. Due to the extent of the carnage, more than 50 other victims, whose bodies were mutilated or decomposed, were buried in mass graves in Mafa.
Gubana, standing in for Governor Mai Mala Buni who was on an official trip abroad, extended the state government’s condolences and presented N30 million in donations to families of the deceased and the injured. He offered prayers, asking Allah to grant peace to the departed souls and swift recovery to the wounded.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Northern Governors’ Forum, and military officials have condemned the attack. They have vowed to bolster security in Yobe with more troops to curb the resurgence of Boko Haram activities in the region.
A survivor, speaking anonymously to our correspondent, shared how he narrowly escaped the attack. “I was lucky to leave the mosque early. I saw them (the insurgents) waiting. One of them shouted at me to go back, but I ran for my life,” he said. After the militants left, he and others counted around 87 corpses. Many of the victims had fled into the bush, and no security personnel were present to intervene during the massacre.
Grateful to have survived, the man, who is preparing to get married next month, expressed deep gratitude to God for sparing his life.
Another survivor, Mallam Ali Isiaka, attended the mass burial and tragically lost one of his sons in the attack. He, too, thanked Allah for his survival and urged the security agencies to take swift action. Most villagers are farmers, he noted, and many have fled, abandoning their land and livelihoods out of fear of further attacks.
Isiaka implored the government and security agencies to protect the lives and property of those remaining in Mafa and the larger Tarmuwa area. “We are calling on the authorities to come to our aid,” he said, noting that the community continues to face significant threats.
It was also observed that, despite recent operations to degrade Boko Haram militants in the area, there was a lack of sufficient security for the local residents. Some have speculated that the recent attack was a form of revenge, following suspicions that villagers had been informing security forces about Boko Haram’s activities.
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