By Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James
MAIDUGURI — Terrorists of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed 12 Christians in an overnight assault on Kautikari, a community near Chibok in Southern Borno, multiple sources — including Dr. Pogu Bitrus, President of the Middle Belt Forum — confirmed to TruthNigeria on Tuesday. The attack, which struck during Holy Week, has plunged the Christian community into fresh grief.
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South in Nigeria’s Senate, also confirmed the killings in a statement reviewed by TruthNigeria. He lamented that Nigeria’s military remains poorly equipped to confront the insurgents who continue to terrorize rural communities.
“I am very shocked that you people have not heard that Kautikari Christian community just outside my Chibok town was attacked and 12 people killed on Monday (March 30th, 2026),” Dr. Bitrus told TruthNigeria in an emotional phone call from Chibok. “Are we a forgotten people?”
Eyewitness Accounts: “They Came in Their Hundreds”
Dr. Bitrus — the President of the Middle Belt Forum and a longtime advocate for vulnerable communities in Southern Borno — told TruthNigeria that the attackers descended on Kautikari “in their hundreds,” overwhelming local defenders who tried to hold them back for more than two hours.
“We believe it was ISWAP that carried out the attack. It bears all their wicked signs,” Dr. Bitrus said, describing how the militants approached on foot from the hills bordering Sambisa Forest. “They may have been over 200, and they came very armed. Our boys confronted them, but there was no help from the military.”
According to Dr. Bitrus, he was in Chibok when the assault unfolded and remained in contact with residents throughout the night. “When it became clear the terrorists had the upper hand, our boys had to retreat,” he said. “There were casualties on both sides, but we don’t yet know how many.”
Killed 24 Hours Before His Wedding
Among the dead was Yohanna Peter, a young man whose wedding was scheduled for the following day. According to Dr. Pogu Bitrus — President of the Middle Belt Forum and one of the first to confirm the attack — Peter was one of several local volunteer guards who confronted the militants as they advanced on the community.
“Yohanna was to be married today,” Dr. Bitrus told TruthNigeria. “He stood with our boys to defend the village, but they killed him alongside others.”
Also killed was Mallam Bumto, a respected local hunters’ commander who had returned from Lagos just a day earlier. Dr. Bitrus said both men were among the first to engage the attackers before being overwhelmed.
The militants looted food supplies, stole livestock, and vandalized two churches before withdrawing. “They set no structures ablaze, but they destroyed what they could,” Dr. Bitrus added.
Army Poorly Equipped to Face Terrorists
In a statement issued Tuesday, Ndume sympathized with the bereaved families but went further, raising alarm over what he described as a critical weakness in Nigeria’s counter-insurgency effort.
“Our security forces lack the firepower needed to decisively confront terrorist groups entrenched in strongholds such as Sambisa Forest, the Mandara Mountains, and the Lake Chad region,” he noted in the statement.
“I urgently called on the Federal Government to quickly provide advanced military assets, including fighter jets, drones, and Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to confront these terrorists,” he pleaded in his statement.
He stressed that what the military needs is not just manpower, but a comprehensive upgrade in technology, equipment, arms, ammunition, and motivation to defeat insurgents who have sustained a violent campaign in the North-East for over a decade.
Not the first time Chibok faced attack
Chibok attracted global attention when on 14 April 2014, Boko Haram Islamists kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, shocking the world. About 57 escaped early, while others were later rescued or released.
The abduction sparked global outrage and the “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign. Over time, many regained freedom, but dozens remain missing.
Also, this was not the first time that Kautikari was attacked.
In February 2022, Morning Star News reported that suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists on killed three Christians in Kautikari village and a Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN) worship building was destroyed.
Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James write on Politics and Conflict for TruthNigeria from Kaduna.
