Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
At least 29 people were slaughtered by suspected Boko Haram terrorists who invaded a village football field in Adamawa State on Sunday evening, April 26, 2026, in one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the North‑East this year. The assailants struck the Guyaku community of Gombi Local Government Area around 5 p.m., firing indiscriminately at young men and women who had gathered to watch a friendly football match. After killing the spectators, the attackers torched a church, set houses ablaze, and destroyed dozens of motorcycles before fleeing into the surrounding bush. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) later claimed responsibility for the massacre, which has sent shockwaves through a region already devastated by over a decade of insurgency.
Witnesses described scenes of unimaginable horror. Philip Agabus, a resident who spoke to AFP, recounted that the insurgents targeted the football pitch directly. “Our people converged at a football pitch in Guyaku community … were attacked by insurgents who entered with guns and began shooting randomly,” he said. Another survivor, Musa Guyaku, told Channels Television that the attack occurred during a match between youths from Zangula and a neighbouring village. “Suddenly, gunmen invaded our community and were shooting sporadically, killing two persons sitting in a hut and burning down the hut,” he said. The violence lasted for hours, with the attackers methodically moving from the football field to residential compounds and places of worship.
Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who cut short other official engagements to visit the devastated community on Monday, confirmed the casualty figures. In a statement posted on his official X handle, the governor said that 29 people lost their lives – 28 men and one woman. Six others sustained injuries and were receiving medical treatment. “My heart breaks for the people of Guyaku in Gombi LGA. Today, I stood on the ground where our brothers and sisters were cruelly taken from us,” Fintiri wrote. “This act of cowardice will not go unpunished. We are intensifying security operations immediately to restore peace and ensure every resident feels safe in their home again.”
The traditional ruler of Gombi Chiefdom, His Royal Majesty Aggrey Bechour‑Ali, disclosed that security agencies had earlier advised the community to suspend Sallah celebrations due to security alerts, a warning the villagers heeded. However, the football match was not included in the advisory. The monarch also expressed deep concern about the presence of informants within the community, suggesting that the attackers knew exactly when and where to strike. “There are informants in our midst who may even be sons of the soil,” he told the governor during a briefing.
The attack on Guyaku occurred simultaneously with other violent incidents across the country. Hours earlier, gunmen abducted 23 pupils and the proprietor’s wife from an orphanage in Kogi State, though 15 of the children were later rescued. In a separate communal clash over farmland in the Lamurde area of Adamawa, more than 100 kilometres from Guyaku, additional lives were lost and properties destroyed. The synergy of attacks suggests a coordinated effort by criminal and insurgent groups to overwhelm security forces and spread panic ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Guyaku massacre through its Amaq news agency, stating that its fighters killed at least 25 Christians and torched a church. While Governor Fintiri blamed “criminal elements of Boko Haram,” the ISWAP faction has increasingly targeted Christian communities and recreational gatherings, viewing them as soft targets that generate maximum publicity. The group has previously attacked churches, markets, and motor parks, but the deliberate targeting of a football match marks a chilling escalation in its campaign of terror.
Survivors and residents have fled the community, fearing further attacks. Many are now taking refuge in Gombi town or crossing into neighbouring villages. “We cannot stay there anymore. They burned our church and our houses. What is left for us?” one displaced woman told a local journalist. The Adamawa State Government has promised to provide emergency relief and has deployed additional security personnel to the area, but residents say trust in the state’s ability to protect them has been badly shaken.
Human rights groups and opposition politicians have condemned the massacre and called for an urgent overhaul of the country’s counter‑insurgency strategy. Amnesty International Nigeria described the attack as “horrifying” and urged the federal government to prioritize civilian protection over military rhetoric. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) issued a statement demanding the immediate resignation of the Minister of Defence and the National Security Adviser, accusing them of failing to prevent what it called a “predictable tragedy.”
The massacre in Guyaku comes just months after a similar attack in Kirchinga village in Madagali Local Government Area, where more than two dozen people were killed in February. Despite repeated military operations under the banner of Operation Hadin Kai, the terrorist groups have adapted and continue to find ways to strike at vulnerable communities. The vast, ungoverned spaces of the Mandara Mountains and the porous borders with Cameroon provide sanctuaries from which they launch hit‑and‑run raids.
As the sun set over the charred remains of the football field, residents of Guyaku began the grim task of identifying the dead. The victims were mostly young men in their teens and twenties, the very demographic that the community had hoped would lead its future. Governor Fintiri has ordered an urgent security review and promised that the perpetrators will be hunted down. But for the families who lost sons, brothers and fathers, the only certainty is that a football match that began with cheers ended with wails.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments