“They Took Everything From Me”: Jihadists Kill Six Sons of 80-Year-Old Woman, Burn 16 Family Members Alive in Darul Jamal

By: Sadauki Ado

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — When Boko Haram militants stormed Darul Jamal late Friday night, the crackle of gunfire and the roar of flames tore through the resettled town on the Nigeria–Cameroon border. By sunrise, entire families were gone, homes reduced to ash, and survivors left with nothing but grief.

The jihadists went house to house, shooting residents, torching homes, and burning families alive. Survivors said the fighters showed no mercy, sparing neither women nor children.

Among the dead was an entire household of the Gamargu tribe — 16 family members burned to death inside their home.

For Falmata Modu, an 80-year-old grandmother, the horror was personal. She said she watched helplessly as militants killed her six sons one after another.

> “They lined up my boys and shot them,” she recalled, her voice breaking. “I begged them to kill me too, but they said I was too old to waste a bullet on. Now I am left alone with nothing but sorrow.”

In another part of town, Bulama Abana, a community elder, said the attack left him numb. “We heard the screams of people burning inside their houses,” he said. “I have been crying since that night. We lost entire families. It is the destruction of our people.”

Local officials confirmed that at least 90 people were killed, though residents fear the toll is higher. The assault also displaced hundreds who fled into the bush and across the Cameroon border, many with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Darul Jamal had only recently been resettled after years of displacement due to insurgent violence. Survivors say this latest attack has shattered hopes of rebuilding.

“This is a tragedy beyond words,” a Borno State official said, condemning the killings. “Communities like Darul Jamal must not be left defenseless.”

The Nigerian military said reinforcements have been deployed to pursue the attackers, but residents remain skeptical.

For Modu, the pain cannot be undone. Sitting quietly amid the rubble of her burned home, she whispered: “They took everything from me. My children are gone, my family is gone. I have only my tears left.”