February 2014 Buni Yadi massacre

Last updated
Federal Government College Buni Yadi attack
Part of Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
Nigeria Yobe State map.png
Location of Yobe State in Nigeria
Location Yobe State, Nigeria
DateFebruary 25, 2014 (2014-02-25)
TargetFederal Government College
Attack type
 School bombing
Weapons Explosives, firearms
Deaths59 [1]
Perpetrators Boko Haram

On February 25, 2014, fifty-nine boys were killed at the Federal Government College of Buni Yadi in Yobe State, Nigeria. The twenty-four buildings of the school were also burned down as a result of the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but according to media and local officials the Islamist militants Boko Haram are suspected to be behind the attack. [2] [1]

Contents

Background

The Federal Government College is a boarding school located in Buni Yadi, a town in Yobe State, Nigeria. [3] The co-educational, secondary school had twenty-four buildings at the time of the attack. [4]

Islamic militants have been in conflict with the government in Northern Nigeria since 2009. Militant groups have increasingly focused on targeting civilians since May 2013 when President Goodluck Jonathan authorized the military to eliminate the resistance. The violence has brought increased instability to Nigeria, the top petroleum producer in Africa. In February 2014, militants were responsible for 300 deaths, mostly of civilians. In late February, the government shut the Nigeria–Cameroon border in an attempt to keep militants from launching attacks in Nigeria and then fleeing into Cameroon. [4]

The militant group Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful", has targeted schools for violent attacks on a number of occasions. [4] The group has been officially labeled a terrorist organization in Nigeria and the United States, and large rewards have been offered for information leading to the capture of the group's leadership. In total, more than 1,000 deaths have been attributed to Boko Haram since May 2013. [3] The group has burnt more than 200 schools, according to official figures. [5] Abubakar Shekau, suspected leader of Boko Haram, issued a video statement in mid-February 2014 promising to continue the group's campaign against western values and threatening to broaden the scope of attacks. [3]

A week before the Buni Yadi attack, Boko Haram members killed 60 people in the town of Bama in neighboring Borno State; four days before that attack, the militants killed 106 in a mostly Christian village, Izghe; and three weeks before that the Islamists killed 78 in two attacks in the region. [2]

Attack

On February 25, 2014, militants barged into the Federal Government College while the students were sleeping. They threw explosives into dorm rooms as they sprayed the rooms with gunfire. According to an eye-witness "students were trying to climb out of the windows and they were slaughtered like sheep by the terrorists who slit their throats. Others who ran were gunned down." [3] All twenty-four buildings were burnt to the ground during the attack. [4]

Fifty-nine boys were killed in the attack. Some died from gunshots or knife wounds, while others were burned to death. [4] Survivors and victims' bodies were taken to Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital in the state capital of Damaturu. A hospital spokesperson said it appeared that the militants had intentionally "spared" female students. [3]

According to media reports, the attack "bore the hallmarks" of Boko Haram. [3] Local officials also attributed the attack to the group, but no claim of responsibility was made. [6]

Aftermath

President Goodluck Jonathan called the Federal Government College attack "callous and senseless murder ... by deranged terrorists and fanatics who have clearly lost all human morality and descended to bestiality". [4] He vowed to "permanently eradicate the scourge of terrorism". [6] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack saying "no objective can justify such violence" and said he was "deeply concerned about the increasing frequency and brutality of attacks". [5]

Relatives of the attack victims surrounded the morgue angrily demanding answers. The military had to take control of the building to restore order. [3] The government's failure to prevent the Federal Government College attack and similar incidents has led to public anger in northeast Nigeria. [4] Students across the region refused to sleep in their boarding schools after the attack and returned to their family homes. [5]

Cause

According to the Yobe State Government, soldiers guarding a checkpoint near the attack site had withdrawn from their post hours before the attack. [3] State governor Ibrahim Gaidam blamed the withdrawal for the attack and said the national military had failed to protect the students. A national military spokesperson, however, said the checkpoint had been dismantled earlier as part of a Joint Task Force operation. He said bad phone lines, possibly cut by the attackers, had prevented the military from hearing about the attack in time to respond. [6] Boko Haram is suspected to have started the attack as part of its fight "to create an Islamic state" in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north. [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yobe State</span> State of Nigeria

Yobe is a state located in northeastern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu, and its largest city by population is Potiskum. While by the largest by land area is Fune, Potiskum Local Government Area is a place of Farmers and marketers, the largest cattle market in Africa is located in Potiskum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodluck Jonathan</span> President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and was the first incumbent president in Nigerian history to concede defeat in an election and therefore allow for a peaceful transition of power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Boko Haram uprising</span> 2009 conflicts between police and Islamist militants in northeastern Nigeria

The 2009 Boko Haram uprising was a conflict between Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group, and Nigerian security forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram</span> Central-West African jihadist terrorist organization

Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, is an Islamist jihadist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group split, resulting in the emergence of a hostile faction known as the Islamic State's West Africa Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram insurgency</span> Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the militant Islamist and jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict is taking place within the context of long-standing issues of religious violence between Nigeria's Muslim and Christian communities, and the insurgents' ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic state in the region.

A series of assaults on businesses occurred in northeastern Nigeria on 5 and 6 January 2012, followed by attacks on police stations and government offices in the north on 20 January. Over 180 people were killed.

On 6 July 2013, Boko Haram insurgents attacked the Government Secondary School in the village of Mamudo in Yobe State, Nigeria and killed at least 42 people. Most of the dead were students, though some staff members were also killed.

On 29 September 2013, gunmen from Boko Haram entered the male dormitory in the College of Agriculture in Gujba, Yobe State, Nigeria, killing forty-four students and teachers.

Timeline of the Boko Haram insurgency is the chronology of the Boko Haram insurgency, an ongoing armed conflict between Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. Boko Haram have carried out many attacks against the military, police and civilians since 2009, mostly in Nigeria. The low-intensity conflict is centred on Borno State. It peaked in the mid 2010s, when Boko Haram extended their insurgency into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The Konduga massacre took place in Konduga, Borno State, Nigeria on 11 February 2014. The massacre was conducted by Boko Haram Islamists against Christian villagers. At least 62 people were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping</span> Kidnapping of female students in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Prior to the raid, the school had been closed for four weeks due to deteriorating security conditions, but the girls were in attendance in order to take final exams in physics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Mubi bombing</span>

On the evening of 1 June 2014, an improvised explosive device was set off at a football field in Mubi, Adamawa State, Nigeria. At least 40 people were killed in the attack, according to eyewitnesses. Nineteen others were injured. The perpetrators of the attack were not clear, although media reports generally blamed Boko Haram.

From 20 to 23 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in Borno State, Nigeria. 91 women and children were kidnapped in the attacks and more than 70 people were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June 2014 Kaduna and Abuja attacks</span>

Between 23 and 25 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in central Nigeria. On 23–24 June, gunmen attacked a number of villages in Kaduna State, killing around 150 people. The attack was blamed on Fulani tribesmen. On 25 June 2014, a bomb exploded at the Emab Plaza in the national capital of Abuja, killing at least 21 people. In response to the bombing, the Nigerian military raided two militants camps on 26 June, killing more than 100 people.

The May 2014 Buni Yadi attack was a terrorist attack that occurred on 27 May 2014 in the town of Buni Yadi, Yobe State, Nigeria. Some 49 security personnel and 9 civilians were killed.

The following lists events from 2014 in Nigeria.

The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Nigeria.

On February 19, 2018, at 5:30 pm, 110 schoolgirls aged 11–19 years old were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from the Government Girls' Science and Technical College (GGSTC). Dapchi is located in Bulabulin, Bursari Local Government area of Yobe State, in the northeast part of Nigeria. The federal government of Nigeria deployed the Nigerian Air Force and other security agencies to search for the missing schoolgirls and to hopefully enable their return. The governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, blamed Nigerian Army soldiers for having removed a military checkpoint from the town. Dapchi lies approximately 275 km northwest of Chibok, where over 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Basin campaign (2018–2020)</span> Series of battles and offensives in the Chad Basin

The Chad Basin campaign of 2018–2020 was a series of battles and offensives in the southern Chad Basin, particularly northeastern Nigeria, which took place amid the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency. The Chad Basin witnessed an upsurge of insurgent activity from early November 2018, as rebels belonging to the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram launched offensives and several raids to regain military strength and seize territory in a renewed attempt to establish an Islamic state in the region. These attacks, especially those by ISWAP, met with considerable success and resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The member states of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), namely Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon responded to the increased insurgent activity with counter-offensives. These operations repulsed the rebels in many areas but failed to fully contain the insurgency.

On April 23, 2021, militants from the Islamic State – West Africa Province (ISWAP) stormed the town of Geidam, in Yobe State, Nigeria, killing several civilians and sparking a battle with Nigerian armed forces.

References

  1. 1 2 "Boko Haram kills 59 boys at Nigerian boarding school". The Guardian. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Islamist Militants Blamed for Deadly College Attack in Nigeria". New York Times. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Sleeping Students 'Killed By Boko Haram'". Sky News. February 25, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hemba, Joe (February 25, 2014). "Nigerian Islamists kill 59 pupils in boarding school attack". Reuters. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Schools, university empty after deadly Nigeria attack". AFP. February 28, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "Nigerian Military: Phones Not Working At Time of School Attack". Voice of America. February 26, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ Abubakar, Aminu (February 25, 2014). "43 killed in Nigeria in suspected Boko Haram school attack". Yahoo News. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Nigeria children killed and school razed". Al Jazeera. 25 Feb 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

11°16′08″N11°59′49″E / 11.2689°N 11.9969°E / 11.2689; 11.9969

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.