At least 11 people are feared dead after suspected Boko Haram fighters reportedly invaded Zaranga village in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State in the early hours of Monday.
Residents said the attackers entered the community while people were still asleep, opening fire and setting houses ablaze during the invasion. The reported assault left residents fleeing for safety, while others remained unaccounted for as search efforts continued.
A resident who spoke with PUNCH Online by telephone on Monday said 11 bodies had been recovered from the affected community. The resident requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly about the incident.
“For now, 11 dead bodies have been recovered. Many people are still missing. Search teams and security personnel are in the forest searching for the missing people,” the resident said.
The account indicates that the casualty figure could rise as residents and security personnel continue searching for people who fled into surrounding areas during the attack. The extent of the destruction caused by the reported burning of houses was not immediately established.
Another resident described the personal loss suffered by his family, saying his wife and two other relatives were among those killed during the early-morning attack.
“My wife and two of my family members were also killed during the early morning invasion of my village,” he said.
The reports from the community point to a sudden attack that caught residents off guard. The alleged assailants were said to have combined gunfire with the burning of houses, prompting people to escape the village and seek safety in surrounding areas.
Search teams and security personnel were subsequently reported to have entered the forest in an effort to locate people who remained missing after the attack.
The security situation remained unclear at the time of filing, with no official casualty figure immediately available from the Adamawa State Police Command.
PUNCH Online said repeated attempts were made to contact the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Nguroje, for confirmation. He did not respond to the calls placed to his telephone.
Consequently, the reported death toll of 11 had not been independently confirmed by the police at the time of the report. The identity of the attackers was also based on the residents’ accounts, which described them as Boko Haram fighters.
The lack of an immediate official response left several details unresolved, including the exact number of people killed, the number still missing, the extent of property destroyed and whether security forces had engaged the attackers.
For residents of Zaranga, the immediate concern remained finding those who had disappeared during the assault and accounting for families affected by the reported killings.
The attack, if confirmed, would add to the insecurity confronting communities in Adamawa, where residents in vulnerable areas remain exposed to attacks by armed groups.
For now, however, the reported 11 deaths remain a preliminary figure supplied by residents, pending confirmation from the relevant security authorities. Search operations were continuing as security personnel and community members looked for missing residents in the forest around Zaranga.
Breaking: 11 Feared Killed as Boko Haram Attacks Adamawa Community
