“Boko Haram attacked Pemi village, killing seven people and abducting seven others, including a priest,” Kachallah Usman, Chibok local government sector secretary, told CNN on Friday.
“They also burned down a church, a hospital and many houses.”
Pemi is located about 20 kilometers from Chibok, where Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls six years ago.
A man believed to be the leader of a Boko Haram group, Abubakar Shekau, also said the group was responsible for the abduction of more than 300 schoolboys in the country’s northwest earlier this month, although Governor Aminu Belo Masari denied the allegations, saying “local bandits” were responsible. .
Chudu Chiwar, a former secretary of the Chibok community in Abuja, told CNN that he received a call from a local resident on Thursday that gunmen had opened fire in the village. The witness told Chiwar that many houses in the area have been burnt down, as well as the Evangelical Church of the Brothers in Pemi village.
Some eyewitnesses told CNN they also heard gunshots and saw people being shot.
An international Christian youth organization held a parade in the village of Pemi to celebrate Christmas when the attack took place, said Bomo Ishaku, an eyewitness.
Nekeki Mutah, chairman of the Chibok community in Abuja, told CNN that he believes Pemi village was specifically targeted because it is a Christian-majority community.
“Since 2018, virtually every two weeks, Boko Haram has been attacking Chibok, killing and kidnapping people,” Muta said.
“They want to erase Chibok from the surface of the earth.”
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