Boko haram butched 43 people in Nigeria

Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram killed at least 43 farm workers and injured six in rice fields near the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Saturday.

According to a report by anti-jihadist militia, the assailants tied up the agricultural workers and slit their throats in the village of Koshobe.

We have recovered 43 dead bodies, all of them slaughtered, along with six others with serious injuries, said militia leader Babakura Kolo, who helped the survivors.

It is no doubt the handiwork of Boko Haram, who operate in the area and frequently attack farmers.

The victims were laborers from Sokoto state in northwest Nigeria, roughly 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away, who had traveled to the northeast to find work, said Ibrahim Liman, another militiaman who gave the same toll.

There were 60 farmers who were contracted to harvest ... the rice fields. Forty-three were slaughtered, with six injured, Liman said.

Eight others were missing, presumed to have been kidnapped by the jihadists, he said.

I condemn the killing of our hard-working farmers by terrorists in Borno state. The entire country is hurt by these senseless killings. My thoughts are with their families in this time of grief. May their souls rest in peace, said President Muhammadu Buhari.

The bodies were taken to Zabarmari village, two kilometers away on Sunday , where they were buried.

The governor of Borno state, Babagana Zulum, attended the victims' funerals on Sunday.

It is disheartening that more than 40 citizens were slaughtered while they were working in their farmlands, he told journalists.

Our people are in very difficult situations, they are in two different extreme conditions: in one side, [if] they stay at home, they may be killed by hunger and starvation; on the other, they go out to their farmlands and risk getting killed by the insurgents. This is very sad.

He called on the federal government to recruit more soldiers and members of other security forces to protect farmers in the region.

Last month, Boko Haram militants slaughtered 22 farmers working in their irrigation fields near Maiduguri in two separate incidents.

Boko Haram and ISWAP, its IS-linked rival, have increasingly targeted loggers, herders and fishermen in their violent campaign, accusing them of spying and passing information to the military and the local militia fighting them.

At least 36,000 people have been killed in the jihadist conflict, which has displaced around 2 million people since 2009.

The violence has also spread into neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight the militants.

The attack took place as voters went to the polls in local elections in Borno State.

The elections had been repeatedly postponed because of an increase in attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP.