One person is dead and a school block lies in ashes after suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgents attacked Kautikari community in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State on Saturday evening.
The victim was a 50-year-old resident. The attackers set ablaze a block containing five classrooms and an office at Kautikari Junior Secondary School before security operatives pushed them back.
Kautikari sits about 20 kilometres from Chibok town — the same area that became world-known in 2014 when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a government secondary school.
The police confirmed the incident through state command spokesperson Nahum Daso. He told Channels Television that information from the divisional police officer in Chibok indicated the attackers entered the community on motorcycles.
“Yes, I can confirm to you that there was an attempted attack on the Kautikari community in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State by suspected ISWAP/Boko Haram insurgents on Saturday evening,” Daso said.
The Education Secretary of Chibok Local Government Area, Malah Kyari, told reporters the affected structure was a junior secondary school block. He said the insurgents killed one person and set the building on fire.
This is the latest attack in Borno State, and it comes at a worrying time — the farming season is just beginning, and many residents are returning to their fields.
It also raises fresh concerns about school safety. On 15 May, suspected Boko Haram insurgents abducted an unspecified number of pupils and students from Mussa-Biri Primary School and Junior Day Secondary School in Askira-Uba Local Government Area.
That abduction sparked a protest by the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in Borno State. The union called on federal and state authorities to intensify efforts to secure the release of the abducted learners and teachers.
During the protest in Maiduguri, the union’s National Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Ibn-Tom, urged the government to provide a safe environment for teaching and learning across the state.
Responding on behalf of Governor Babagana Zulum, the Chief of Staff, Mustapha Malumbe, assured the protesters that the state government is committed to strengthening security in schools and communities.
Attacks on schools and educational facilities have remained a recurring feature of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria’s North-east despite sustained military operations against insurgent groups in the region.
“Yes, I can confirm to you that there was an attempted attack on the Kautikari community in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State by suspected ISWAP/Boko Haram insurgents on Saturday evening.” — Nahum Daso, police spokesperson
The attack on Saturday evening shows that insurgents still have the capacity to strike communities despite years of military campaigns. For residents of Kautikari and nearby villages, the fear is that the farming season — a time when people are more exposed in their fields — could bring more violence.