Fifteen farmers and firewood gatherers were killed in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants that began late on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, and continued into Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The attack hit the villages of Ala, Gummna and Musune, about 130 kilometres northeast of Maiduguri, the state capital. Three other residents remain unaccounted for.
Police Confirm Toll, Search for Missing Residents
Borno State Police Command spokesperson Nahum Daso confirmed the deaths. “Yes, there was an attack in Marte,” he told Legit.ng, adding that efforts were under way to find those still missing. Residents told AP that the victims, who included young men and village elders, were tied up and shot at close range while gathering firewood and tending their crops. The bodies were recovered from surrounding bushland and buried on Thursday evening according to Islamic rites.
A relative of one of the victims said the group had gone to their farms to harvest crops when they were ambushed, according to a report carried by AllAfrica. The same report said five bodies were found first in the fields, with the rest recovered later, and that local sources believe the three missing people were abducted. Amnesty International condemned the killings in a statement on Friday, October 2, 2026.
Minister: Attack on Food Security
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, condemned the attack in a statement issued on October 4, 2026, offering condolences to the families, the people of Marte and Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum. “Protecting our farmers is protecting Nigeria’s food security,” the statement said. Kyari also urged security agencies to step up operations and to locate the three people still missing, Vanguard reported.
A Recurring Threat to Northern Farms
Marte has been hit before. In December 2024, Radio Ndarason Internationale reported that at least 14 people, most of them farmers and firewood collectors, were killed in two attacks near the villages of Lomani and Saula in the same district.
The latest killings come during a year of severe pressure on northern food production. The Food and Agriculture Organization projected that about 34.7 million Nigerians could face severe food insecurity during the June to August 2026 lean season, based on its October 2025 Cadre Harmonisé analysis, Nairametrics reported on January 10, 2026. In a July 4, 2026 brief, the World Hunger Education Service said more than two million hectares of farmland in northern Nigeria are now inaccessible.
FoodPrices Nigeria tracks grain and vegetable prices across Lagos markets and will watch for supply effects as the northern harvest moves south.
Editor Notes (do not publish):
Sources differ on timing: Legit.ng says the attack was on Wednesday evening, September 30; Amnesty’s statement dates it to Thursday, October 1; AP says late Wednesday into Thursday. I used AP’s wording. One outlet (AzerNews) reported 20 deaths; I dropped it because police and every other source give 15. The AllAfrica link is a syndicated copy of a Nigerian outlet’s report; if you can find the original, swap it in. The World Hunger Education Service figure is secondary; replace it with a primary FAO or WFP source if you have one.