At least 25 people have been killed in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants in Sabon Gari, a town in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.
Relatives of the victims said the dead were labourers who had travelled to the area to work at a construction site when gunmen stormed the town on Thursday and opened fire.
Hassan Usman and Auwal Isa, who both lost relatives in the attack, said the victims had gone to the community seeking work opportunities before the assault occurred.
Ali Ndume, the senator representing the affected region, expressed shock and sadness over the killings, describing the victims as his constituents.
In a separate attack also reported on Thursday, militants launched a pre-dawn assault on a military base elsewhere in Borno State. Security sources said at least nine soldiers and two members of a civilian task force supporting the military were killed, while 16 others sustained injuries.
Borno State remains the epicentre of Nigeria’s long-running insurgency involving Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The groups have recently intensified attacks on both civilians and security forces, including ambushes on military convoys.
Nigeria continues to grapple with insecurity driven by insurgent violence and mass abductions. Authorities have said they are working to strengthen security cooperation with international partners as efforts continue to contain extremist threats in the region.
