The leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau, has said that members of the group butchered 78 farmers in last Saturday’s raid on rice farmers at Zabarmari community in Jere Local Government Area of Borno State.

Official figures had claimed 43 rice farmers were tied up and their throat slit. The United Nations had also reported that at least 110 were killed but later withdrew the statement, stating instead that ‘unspecified numbers’ were killed in the incident.

But Shekau, in a video claiming responsibility for the farmers’ killing on Tuesday, said that more than 43 farmers were killed in the tragic incident.

According to him, his men went after the farmers because they handed over a member of the sect to the Nigerian army.

Shekau threatened that the sect members will go after those giving out intelligence on their activities to the military.

The killing has been widely condemned within and outside Nigeria, with the United Nations describing it as the “most violent attack” affecting civilians in 2020.

Earlier on Tuesday, the senate had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the “overstayed” service chiefs, while the house of representatives said they would summon the president over the killing.