A group of armed men has attacked a church in the village of Nzangula, in the state of Adamawa, in northeastern Nigeria, leaving a toll of at least twelve people dead, two injured, and one woman kidnapped. The assault has also caused the destruction of the temple, as well as several homes and businesses in the area.
"The report coming from the village of Nzangula, in the Guyaku district, in the local government area of Gombi, indicates that twelve people lost their lives, two were injured and are currently in the Cottage Hospital of Gombi," stated the president of the aforementioned local authority, Markus Ishaya, this Monday in statements collected by the Nigerian newspaper 'Daily Trust'.
The local official added that the attackers set fire to a community church, burned three houses, and destroyed two shops, in addition to kidnapping a woman. According to his account, the group burst into the village at dawn, when most residents were sleeping, which favored the magnitude of the attack.
This episode adds to another that occurred in the village of Zaranga, also in the Gombi government area, where at least eleven people are said to have died. According to the same newspaper, which cites local residents, the jihadist group Boko Haram reportedly stormed the locality in the early hours of Monday, shooting at the inhabitants and setting fire to several houses.
"So far, eleven bodies have been recovered. Many are still missing. Search teams and security personnel are in the forest looking for the missing people," recounts the aforementioned resident, although so far the authorities have not commented on this attack.
Northeastern Nigeria continues to be the epicenter of Boko Haram operations and its offshoot, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA). In recent years, violence has spread to other areas of the north and northwest of the country, fueling concerns about the expansion of armed networks and criminal gangs and their severe impact on the civilian population.
In this context, at the end of last August, the Nigerian Army announced the "neutralization" of more than 20 alleged members of Boko Haram and the Islamic State, as part of a "major offensive" carried out precisely in the state of Adamawa.