Killers Called Victims by Name to Come Forward from their Houses
By Mike Odeh James and Izighi Bitrus Adamu
(Yola) Nigerian army units are scrambling to regain the upper hand after a flurry of attacks in Nigeria’s Adamawa State, TruthNigeria has learned. The latest attack took the lives of 25 Christians and included family abductions and razed homes in Madagali — striking the Nigerian governor’s own hometown for the fifth time in five months.
The affiliation of the terrorists was reported by several media as Boko Haram (Western Learning Forbidden), but witnesses interviewed by TruthNigeria insisted the group was Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP). Both terrorist groups claim affiliation with Islamic State.
“They started shooting at people sitting under a tree near the market. Many were shot dead while we scampered toward the mountains,” one survivor told Truth Nigeria.
“Many people outside will think this is the work of Boko Haram, But Boko Haram has long been expelled from this area.,”
Bala John Maigida told TruthNigeria.
It is ISWAP that normally does these attacks,” Maigida said.
“The hallmark of ISWAP is to go to a community round up Christians and kill them, we know them, Maigida added.
ISWAP terrorists attacked an army camp in nearby Garaha on Saturday, Feb. 21, torching homes, HumAngle reported. No Nigerian army counterattacks or air strikes have been reported by Friday, Feb. 27.
“The Nigerian Army has a longstanding communications problem,” according to Scott Morgan, a Washington-based security consultant specializing in West Africa. “It takes too long for them to respond to attacks. The jihadists know this and exploit it to their advantage,” he said to TruthNigeria.
Madagali is a predominantly Christian enclave in Adamawa State, northeastern Nigeria, situated roughly 150 miles northeast of Yola in the corridor between the southern border of Borno State and the Cameroon border. It is at the edge of Sambisa Forest — the operational heartland of Boko Haram and ISWAP for two decades. Its geography makes it one of the most isolated Christian communities in West Africa, beyond reach of rapid military response.
Christian Community Surrounded and Slaughtered
On February 24, between 50 and 100 ISWAP gunmen dressed in Nigerian military camouflage descended simultaneously on Kirchinga and neighboring Garaha, two Christian farming villages. Eighteen believers were killed in Kirchinga; seven more in Garaha. Four additional bodies were recovered from surrounding bushes two days later.
The attackers arrived first on two motorcycles, posing as soldiers on patrol, according to locals who spoke to TruthNigeria. Dozens more had encircled the village. The gunmen called Christian residents by name — showing evidence that they planned to target Christians. Among the dead was Bademi Papka, village head of Shuwari and a cousin of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. Homes were torched, cattle looted, and women and children dragged into the bush.
Fourth Strike in Five Months
Madagali region has been attacked five times since October 2025 — October 1, November 19, December 8, Feb. 21 and February 24. Each raid has followed the same pattern: fighters in military uniforms, motorcycles, and prior knowledge of the Christian community’s layout.
David Idah, Director of the International Human Rights Commission, said the evidence is unambiguous. “What we are seeing in Madagali is not random violence — it is systematic, coordinated, and targeted at Christian farming communities who have no meaningful protection. Five attacks in five months represent a strategic campaign of extermination.”
Why the West Must Pay Attention
ISWAP is a franchise of the Islamic State global network — the same organization that carried out attacks in Paris and Manchester. Its expansion across the Lake Chad Basin mirrors the pre-2014 growth of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Western intelligence agencies have flagged ISWAP as the most dangerous IS affiliate in Africa.
“Any US intervention is welcome — but it will take time to reach remote communities,” Idah told TruthNigeria. “What is urgently needed is an emergency international response: diplomatic pressure, humanitarian funding, and holding Nigerian security forces accountable for arriving after the dead are already buried.”
A Region Bleeding: Adamawa, Taraba, and the Christian Corridor Under Fire
Adamawa State shares a boundary with Taraba State to the south — where killing of Christians has become almost daily, with herdsmen attacks on farming communities going unreported internationally. Together, Adamawa and Taraba form a corridor of Christian persecution in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northeast, facing violence from both ISWAP insurgents and armed Fulani militias.
“There is a soldier at a checkpoint near our village — he was a Boko Haram member. Another is now a policeman in Kano,” one Madagali resident told Truth Nigeria anonymously. Locals say repentant fighters reintegrated into communities have become informants, explaining how attackers knew which homes to target.
Idah was unsparing: “Boko Haram’s ideology frames Christians as existential enemies. What is happening across Adamawa and Taraba is a war against Christian identity and survival. The international community cannot treat this as a local matter.”
Governor Visits. Abuja Silent.
Governor Fintiri visited Kirchinga, condemning the assault as “cowardly acts of terrorism.” Adamawa State Speaker Bathiya Wesley described meeting families in “deep mourning.”
But no statement was issued by the federal government in Abuja.
“We are caged — held captive by terrorists who murder us, and no one speaks,” one survivor said. “Security came after the dead were already cold. Will anything stop them returning?”
Mike Odeh James and Izighe Bitrus Adamu are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
