Suspected Boko Haram members on Saturday attacked Kwashebe Zamarmari in the Jere Local Government Area of Borno State, killing at least 43 people working in a farm.
The victims were harvesting rice when the terrorists unexpectedly pounced in the latest episode of insecurity across the country.
The terrorists were said to have tied up the victims of the latest attack before slitting their throats.
Forty-three bodies, all slaughtered, had been recovered at press time.
The victims were described as labourers from Sokoto State.
It was gathered that soldiers were on the trail of the terrorists.
The attack is being interpreted as another setback for the country in the efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
Food prices keep rising in the country largely on the strength of the insecurity in food-producing areas.
The attack came on the heels of Thursday’s outcry by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar about the mounting security challenge in the north.
The Sultan, speaking at the fourth quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) held in Abuja, said the situation was so bad that people are now scared to travel.
He said bandits even have the audacity to “go around in the villages, households and markets with their AK 47 rifles. They stop at the market, buy things, pay and collect change, with their weapons openly displayed.”
He called for an urgent national dialogue to discuss some of the critical challenges facing the nation.
“We need to sit down in a very serious national dialogue to discuss these issues. We have not run out of patriotic, distinguished Nigerians who can proffer solutions to the problem,” he said.
“What we lack is implementation. We do not like doing the right thing; we always cut corners. That is our problem.”
The Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CONEPD) said the Sultan’s statement was a vindication of its position that insecurity in the north was getting worse.
The coalition, in a statement by the National Coordinator of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CONEPD), Engineer Zana Goni, and the National Women Leader, Hajia Mario Bichi, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the advice of most Nigerians by re-jigging the security architecture and appointing young minds who will salvage the situation.
It charged other leaders to speak up against insecurity and other precarious situations bedeviling the country.
It said:
“We most respectfully commend the Sultan of Sokoto, our father, for stating the true position of things in the north as it concerns insecurity.
“We had said it over and over again that the state of insecurity had reached a point where our farmers can hardly access their farms, even as travellers on busy highways can no longer guarantee their safe arrival without being kidnapped.
“Our mothers, fathers, and children are now at the mercy of terrorists and bandits, who kill, harass and destroy property without being confronted, in many instances, by our security operatives.
“As patriotic elders, we think the position of the Sultan is a Clarion call to our dear President, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, to restructure the security architecture in the country without further delay.
“We applaud our President for ensuring huge budgetary allocation to the military and security sectors, thereby demonstrating his interest in securing lives and property.
“We, however, regret that our security chiefs have not shown commensurate commitment in tackling these security challenges, owing to what we see as lethargy and spent ideas.
“Accordingly, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the service chiefs without further delay, and appoint younger senior officers that will bring fresh perspectives and ideas to bear in addressing the deteriorating security situation in the North in particular, and the country in general.”
