At least 81 people were killed, and several others remain missing following a brutal terrorist attack on a village in northeastern Nigeria, local authorities reported on Tuesday.
The attack, believed to have been carried out by the militant group Boko Haram, has left the community reeling from the loss.
According to Abdulkarim Dongus, the spokesperson for the Yobe State Police, around 150 suspected Boko Haram militants armed with rifles and RPGs stormed the village of Mafa on Sunday at about 4:00 PM.
The attackers arrived on more than fifty motorcycles, unleashing violence that claimed many lives.
While the exact death toll is still unconfirmed, Dongus noted that the number of victims could be significant.
The spokesperson for the local government in Tarmuwa, where Mafa is located, confirmed that at least 81 people were killed in the attack.
Residents of the village fear that the death toll could rise as several villagers remain missing and are believed to have been killed while fleeing into the surrounding bushland.
Modu Mohammed, a local resident, suggested that the actual number of fatalities could exceed 100, noting that some bodies are still unaccounted for in the dense forested area.
The attack took place in Yobe State, one of the three northeastern Nigerian states that have been at the center of a 15-year insurgency led by Boko Haram.
The conflict has claimed thousands of lives and displaced more than two million people.
