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17 killed by militants in Nigeria for failing to pay 'cattle tax'
Jihadists affiliated to the Islamic State group killed 17 people in a raid on a remote village in northeast Nigeria after villagers refused to pay an illicit tax, anti-jihadist militia and a resident told AFP Tuesday.
Scores of fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) stormed the remote farming and herding village of Kayayya in Yobe State late on Monday, 150 kilometres from the state capital Damaturu, hurling explosives and opening fire, the sources said.
"The terrorists attacked the village around 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) with explosives and guns while the residents were chatting away the night," said Gremah Bukar, a militia member who assists the military fighting the jihadists.
"They then opened fire on those residents who tried to flee. They killed 17 people and injured five others," Bukar said.
According to a Yobe state police report, 20 people were killed and parts of the village razed before the militants fled. A Yobe state security official did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
The attack was in response to the villagers' refusal to pay jihadists a tax they demanded on cattle, Abubakar Adamu, said another militia member who gave the same toll.
Militants and armed groups in remote parts of Nigeria sometimes demand "taxes" on communities as a way to exercise control and raise funds.
Babagana Kyari, a resident of Geidam town, said the five injured in the Kayayya attack were taken to the general hospital in the town for medical attention.
"One of the injured victims said the ISWAP insurgents attacked the village because they told them they would not pay the cattle levy they imposed on the village," said Kyari who visited the injured at the hospital.
A Yobe state police report said 20 people were killed and that parts of the village were razed before the militants fled.
Over the last two years, jihadists have carried out attacks beyond their stronghold in northeast Borno State, the heart of the country's 14-year-long Islamist militant conflict.
Yobe, Borno state's immediate neighbour, has also borne the brunt of the jihadist violence, including deadly raids on villages, military bases, schools and markets, as well as mass abductions.
In April last year, ISWAP jihadists killed 11 people in attacks on bars and a technical college in Geidam, days after six people were killed and 16 injured in an explosion targeting another bar in northeastern Taraba state.
On Wednesday ISWAP claimed responsibility for an explosion at a bar in northeast Taraba state the day before which local police said killed six people and injured 16 others.
Nigeria's jihadist conflict has killed 40,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast since it erupted in 2009, according to the UN.
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Over 70 people missing after latest deadly boat accident in Nigeria
More than 70 people were missing on Monday after a boat capsized in northern Nigeria, according to authorities who deplored the frequent deadly boat accidents in Africa's most populous country.
The boat was carrying traders returning from a fish market in Taraba state's Ardo-Kola district late Saturday when it capsized on the Benue River, which is one of Nigeria's largest, the national emergency services said.
More than 100 passengers were on board and 14 were rescued, while 17 bodies have been recovered and 73 people are missing, Ladan Ayuba, head of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency, told The Associated Press.
Taraba Gov. Agbu Kefas called the accident a "monumental tragedy" and ordered the use of life jackets for boat passengers. "Our body of water, which is one of the longest in the region, should be a veritable source of wealth and not death," the governor said, according to a statement issued Monday by his office.
Boat disasters are common in remote communities across the West African nation. This is the third involving more than 100 passengers in just four months. Most are attributed to overloading. Good, accessible roads are often lacking in those areas.
Authorities were investigating the cause of this accident, said Taraba police spokesperson Usman Abdullahi. Locals and fishermen were helping rescue agencies.
Abdullahi said he feared that the operation could last for days because the river is flowing at its highest level.
"We don't even expect to get the bodies anywhere near here," he said.
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