“Boko Haram has attacked the village of Pemi, killed seven people and abducted seven others, including a pastor,” local government secretary Chibok Kachallah Usman told CNN on Friday.
“They also burned a church, a dispensary and several houses,” he added.
Pemi is about 20 kilometers from Chibok, where Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolchildren six years ago.
A man who claims to be Abubakar Shekau, a leader of one of the Boko Haram factions, also said that the group is responsible for the abduction of more than 300 schoolchildren in the northwest of the country earlier this month, although Governor Aminu Bello Masari rejected this. statement that “local bandits” were responsible.
Audu Chiwar, a former secretary of the Chibok community in Abuja, told CNN on Thursday that he received a call from a local resident who reported that gunmen had opened fire in the village. The witness told Chiwar that several houses in the area had been burned, as well as the Evangelical Church of the Brethren in the village of Pemi.
Several eyewitnesses told CNN that they also heard gunshots and saw people shot.
An international organization of young Christians organized a parade in the village of Pemi to celebrate Christmas when the attack took place, according to eyewitness Bomo Ishaku.
Nkeki Mutah, president of the Chibok community in Abuja, told CNN that he believes the village of Pemi was specifically targeted because it is a majority Christian community.
“Since 2018, almost every two weeks, Boko Haram has been attacking Chibok, killing and kidnapping people,” Mutah said.
“They want to wipe Chibok off the face of the earth.”