“Boko Haram attacked the village of Pemi, killed seven people and kidnapped seven more, including a pastor,” Kibhallah Usman, Chibok’s local government area secretary, told CNN on Friday.
“They also burned a church, a dispensary and several houses,” he added.
Pemi is about 20 kilometers from Chibok, where Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls six years ago.
A man who claims to be Abubakar Shekau, leader of one of the Boko Haram factions, also said the group was responsible for the kidnapping of more than 300 schoolchildren in the north-west of the country earlier this month, although Governor Aminu Bello Masari refuted this claim, saying the “local bandits” were responsible.
Audu Chiwar, a former secretary of the Chibok community in Abuja, told CNN that he received a call on Thursday from a local resident reporting that gunmen had opened fire on the village. The witness told Chiwar that several houses in the area had been burned, as well as the evangelical church of the brothers in the village of Pemi.
Several eyewitnesses told CNN that they also heard gunshots and saw people shot.
An international Christian youth organization had been holding a parade in the village of Pemi to celebrate Christmas when the attack took place, according to eyewitness Bomo Ishaku.
Nkeki Mutah, president of the Chibok community in Abuja, told CNN that he believes the people of Pemi were a specific target because it is a Christian-majority community.
“Since 2018, almost every two weeks, Boko Haram has been attacking Chibok, killing and kidnapping people,” Mutah said.
“They want to remove Chibok from the Earth’s surface.”