At least 11 people were killed in the early hours of Monday, Sept. 7, as suspected Boko Haram terrorists invaded Zaranga village in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa state, Nigeria. 

The attackers reportedly entered the community before dawn, shooting residents and setting houses ablaze. A resident who spoke by telephone said 11 bodies had been recovered while several people remained missing.  

“Search teams and security personnel are in the forest searching for the missing people,” the local said.  

Another resident described losing members of his immediate family. 

“My wife and two of my family members were also killed during the early morning invasion of my village,” he said. 

Several attempts to reach Adamawa State Police Command Spokesperson SP Suleiman Nguroje for confirmation were unsuccessful. He did not respond to calls seeking comment as of the time of filing. 

Additional Attacks

The attack in Zaranga came as violence was also being reported in communities across the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State. 

On Sept. 3, violence that began in Mangun reportedly spread to Fungtim, where one person was killed. That same night, residents said an attack on Kinat in Mangu Halle claimed the life of another young person. 

Mathias Ibrahim, secretary of Mangu IDP, said another man, identified as Nandom, was ambushed and killed while returning from Marish. Ibrahim said Nandom was buried the following day. 

“This week started with an ambush,” Ibrahim told an International Christian Concern (ICC) staffer. 

Residents also reported an attack on the Muko community in Mangu Local Government, where houses were burned during a daytime assault. No deaths were reported in that incident, but residents fled their homes as security forces were deployed to the area. 

According to Ibrahim, families from Muko sought refuge in neighboring communities, including Kanger and Wubel. 

He said the number of displaced people was increasing as repeated attacks forced more residents from their homes and farms. 

“We need food; we don’t want to die of hunger,” Ibrahim said, appealing for assistance for displaced Christians sheltering in the area. 

The reports from Adamawa and Plateau add to a pattern of attacks in parts of Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northeast, where residents in affected communities have faced killings, property destruction, and displacement. 

For families in Zaranga, the search continued into the aftermath of Monday’s attack as relatives waited for news of those still missing. In Mangu, displaced families were sheltering away from homes that had been abandoned after new rounds of violence. 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email us. To support ICC’s work around the world, please give to our Where Most Needed Fund.