Nine people have been killed and four others injured in a deadly assault on the Malam Fatori community in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, a region once again gripped by rising insurgent violence. Authorities confirmed Sunday that the attackers were Boko Haram militants.
Governor Babagana Zulum, speaking through Borno’s Commissioner for Local Governments, Sugun Mai Mele, condemned the killings and visited the border-town community near Chad, approximately 270 kilometers (167 miles) from the state capital, Maiduguri. The exact date of the attack was not specified.
While addressing residents during the visit, Commissioner Mele delivered a stern warning against local collaboration with the extremist group. “Anyone found collaborating with the insurgents to bring harm or attack to the people of Malam Fatori will be cursed,” he reportedly said. He also noted that plans were underway to strengthen security in the town to prevent future assaults.
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The attack is the latest in a disturbing resurgence of violence by Boko Haram, whose activities have intensified in northeastern Nigeria in recent months. Militants have increasingly overrun military posts, planted explosive devices on major routes, and raided villages, fueling fears of a return to the bloodshed and instability that once defined the region during Boko Haram’s peak insurgency.
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Just weeks earlier, a suicide bombing rocked the Konduga area of Borno State. Authorities believe a female attacker was responsible for detonating the bomb at a local restaurant, killing at least 10 people and injuring several others. The blast added to the growing concerns about the extremist group’s renewed momentum.
Founded in 2009, Boko Haram initially launched its campaign to oppose Western-style education and establish a radical form of Islamic governance. The violence has since escalated into a prolonged conflict that has devastated communities and spread beyond Nigeria’s borders into neighboring countries.
According to the United Nations, over 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million displaced due to the conflict in Nigeria’s northeast.
Aside from the northeast, the nation continues to battle widespread insecurity across its north-central and northwestern regions, where waves of violence and banditry have left hundreds dead and communities traumatized in recent months. The scale and persistence of these threats continue to challenge the Nigerian government’s assertions of military progress.
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