MAIDUGURI, — Suspected Boko Haram fighters have killed a pastor, two members of a local hunters’ vigilante group and two civilians after storming Tarfa, a remote community in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, according to the North-East chairman and commander of Hunters/Vigilantes in the area, Mallam Shawulu Yohanna.
Yohanna, who is based in neighbouring Hawul LGA, said the attack occurred on Wednesday at about 4 p.m. but news of the assault filtered out only on Friday due to poor telecommunications coverage around the border communities. Tarfa lies under Biu and shares a boundary with Hawul, a geography residents say has left settlements exposed to incursions and delayed emergency reporting.
In an account carried by local media, Yohanna said six hunters confronted the attackers but were overwhelmed by superior firepower. “Two of my members were killed, including a pastor attached to the Church of the Brethren (EYN), as well as other two civilians,” he was quoted as saying. He added that the gunmen also looted foodstuffs and livestock during the raid.
The pastor’s name was not officially released in the initial reports. Yohanna said the cleric had just returned from his farm when the shooting began and was later shot dead near his home after attempting to flee. The assault, he said, happened as many residents were returning from farmlands where they had been harvesting groundnuts, beans and other crops.
Police authorities in Borno had not issued an official statement at the time of publication. Vanguard reported that efforts to reach the police spokesperson, ASP Keneth Daso, were unsuccessful, while a senior Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) source in the state confirmed the killings but was not authorised to speak publicly.
The incident adds to renewed security concerns in Borno, where insurgents have continued to target both civilian communities and security formations. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Boko Haram fighters attacked a military position in the state, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding dozens, underscoring the persistent threat despite years of counterinsurgency operations.
