By Emmanuel Kwada
In a heartbreaking exclusive interview with TGNEWS, a survivor from one of the affected villages in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State has detailed a decade of relentless terror attacks that have claimed over 56 lives, left properties destroyed, and forced residents to live in constant fear.
The interviewee, Mr. Peter, who lost brothers and valuables in the assaults, described the five villages—Mabang, Damna, Lar, Kupri, and others nearby—as being “slaughtered, ignored, and suffering in silence.”
The villages, located approximately 14 kilometers from Graha town (home to a military outpost) and less than 28 kilometers from Hong town, have been repeatedly targeted by assailants launching strikes from the notorious Sambisa Forest, a known hideout for insurgent groups.
Mr. Peter emphasized that these attacks are not new: “This is not the first attack. They have been attacking us for the last 10 years, immediately after we returned from the 2015 IDP camps when they overran and took control of over nine local government areas in Adamawa State.”
According to Mr. Peter, the media has only recently begun covering the violence, despite ongoing losses.
“…the lack of network is what makes it worse this time around because they have destroyed the only solar-powered mast we’re managing in the five villages. People on the other side call to inform us to run whenever they sight these people, Boko Haram, coming; we run into bushes and the casualties are minimal when there is network, but now they meet us unaware and start killing systematically.
Read Also: Six Confirmed Dead, Many Injured in Suspected UXO Blast in Hong LGA, Adamawa State
“We really need to be connected back to network,” he said.
He recounted unreported killings from the last year alone: 16 in Kulda village, 10 in Kupri, 14 in Mabang, six in Bang Alar, three each in Zar, Dawariya, and Lardi, plus one more in Zar during a subsequent strike—totaling over 56 deaths cited in community records which he can remember.
Additionally, more than 10 people remain in captivity since abductions in Kupri last year, with their fate unknown.
Daily disappearances further compound the trauma, as residents flee into bushes during raids, returning only to bury the dead.
The attackers, whom Mr. Peter believes are primarily Boko Haram insurgents (though sometimes disguised or confused with other groups like Fulani herdsmen), arrive on 40 to 100 motorcycles, carrying two to three armed men each.
Raids typically occur in the evening around 5 p.m. or early morning between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., involving sporadic gunfire, chants of “Allahu Akbar,” looting of foodstuffs and valuables, burning of houses and churches, and brutal killings.
Victims are shot while fleeing, captured if they stop, and slaughtered with knives and machetes—often beheaded.
Men and children are primary targets, though women are spared only if cooperative; ransoms demanded are often unaffordable, leading to executions.
“They normally demand exorbitant sums of money, which the villagers could not afford to raise; they execute the victims,” he said.
The villages are predominantly Christian (80-90% of residents), with local Muslim converts rather than external Hausa or Fulani.
“It is only in Kupri and Zar that you can find a few Muslims, and they’re our people that converted to Islam, not Hausa or Fulani,” he said.
Mr. Peter noted the sophistication of the attackers’ weapons, distinguishable from Nigerian military firepower by their sound and intensity.
“You will know the difference from the sound; this weapon belongs to Boko Haram, it sounds different from the Nigerian army’s,” Peter said.
Despite proximity to security forces—9-10 kilometers from Graha’s army outpost—response times are delayed. In one incident, soldiers arrived 90 minutes after a 5:30 p.m. raid, inspected briefly, and departed, leaving communities vulnerable.
Mr. Peter lamented the absence of permanent security posts, contrasting their villages with smaller ones that have them.
“They are some villages with less population than our villages, but they have security outposts, but we don’t have,” he lamented.
“Security personnel, as well as the state and federal governments, have been aware of our plight for the last three years, but nobody cares to deploy security to protect us.”
Government presence is felt only during elections, when over 5,000 voters across polling units in Mabang, Damna, Lar, and Kupri (with three units) turn out.
Recent responses include Senator Iya Abbas raising the issue in the National Assembly, facilitating a deployment in Graha; Hon. James Barka donating ₦1 million for injured treatment; and Governor Ahmadu Fintiri preparing relief materials for distribution at the palace of Tol Hoba.
Residents urgently call for security outposts in Zar and Kupri to bolster local vigilantes, repair of a damaged network mast for early warnings, and overall protection.
“We really need help from the government. We cannot continue like this, losing lives and property on a daily basis to terror,” Mr. Peter pleaded.
These accounts align with broader reports of insurgent activity in Hong LGA, including recent attacks in late 2025 on villages like Zah (or Zar), Mubang, and Kijing, where suspected Boko Haram militants killed at least 14 and left others missing, burning homes and shops.
The Adamawa State House of Assembly has urged enhanced military deployment and humanitarian aid, highlighting the vulnerability of communities near Sambisa Forest.
As residents continue burying loved ones and hiding in fear, the cry for sustained federal and state intervention grows louder, underscoring a humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s northeast that demands immediate action.
Read Also: B’Haram’s 3rd Strike in 6 Days Leaves Hong, Adamawa in Ruins as Many Killed, Scores Injured
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