Eight villagers were killed on 3 May in a community in Borno State, Nigeria, that has been repeatedly attacked by Islamist militants.
Members of Boko Haram are suspected of carrying out the latest assault on Kautikari village, which is in a predominantly Christian region of Chibok Local Government Area (LGA). Another victim, an elderly woman, was killed in the nearby village of Kwada.
A survivor of the Kautikari attack said the militants invaded the village at about 7.30pm, shooting and setting fire to homes. Many people were wounded, and cattle and food stocks looted, he added.
Three Christians were killed in an assault on Kautikari in February 2022 that is thought to have been carried out by members of the Islamic State West Africa Province, an offshoot of Boko Haram.
After the raid a resident lamented that the government had abandoned the people of the area. “The insurgents always come and do whatever they want and go back to come back another day,” he stated.
Kautikari was one of three villages in Chibok LGA attacked by Islamist militants in December 2021 and January 2022.
It was from Chibok town that Boko Haram terrorists abducted 276 girls, mostly Christian, from a secondary school in April 2014. Around 160 girls later escaped, were rescued or released.
Pray for an end to the repeated attacks on Kautikari and the surrounding area, and for guidance for the authorities in finding a solution to the relentless violence across Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Ask that the Lord will draw close to the bereaved and give them comfort.
