Over 50 members of a rescue team dispatched to recover and bury the bodies of victims from last weekend’s Boko Haram/ISWAP attack on Dumba community, Borno State, northwest Nigeria are feared dead following an ambush.

Reports indicate that a rescue team comprising community members, hunters, vigilantes, and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) had embarked on the recovery mission but failed to return more than 24 hours later.

Sources disclosed that the rescue team encountered the ambush either during or after the burial of recovered bodies. The attackers, anticipating the burial ceremony, strategically targeted the location to inflict further casualties.

Of the 54 civilians in the rescue team, only one survivor has been confirmed. The survivor reported that the team was attacked while attempting to bury over 50 recovered corpses, leaving at least 15 bodies unburied due to the ambush.

The tragic incident has heightened fear and desperation within the community. Residents are now appealing to the government for evacuation to safer locations until adequate security is restored.

The Borno State Government had previously warned community members against venturing into areas deemed unsafe by the military. Community sources, however, revealed that access to farmlands and fishing areas had been negotiated through payments to the terrorists.

The breakdown of this precarious agreement is believed to have triggered the attack, with the insurgents accusing the locals of leaking intelligence to security forces.

This grim development underscores the fragile security situation in the Lake Chad region and the urgent need for enhanced government intervention to protect vulnerable communities.