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By Billy Graham Abel, Yola
The fragile calm in Adamawa’s northern frontier was shattered in the early hours of Monday when Boko Haram insurgents launched a deadly attack on Kirchinga, a community in the hometown of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, killing a former councillor and abducting his two sons.
The victim, Thlama Sini, a respected former councillor representing Kirchinga Ward, was dragged from his home alongside his children during the late-night raid. Local sources say Sini was shot dead after pleading with the attackers to spare him due to his diabetic and hypertensive condition.
“He told them he could not walk into the forest and asked them to name their price,” a shaken family member told News Rendezvous. “They refused. They dragged him to the outskirts of the village and shot him before disappearing with his two boys.”
Kirchinga and the wider Madagali Local Government Area have endured some of the most brutal episodes of Boko Haram violence since the insurgency spread into Adamawa State over a decade ago.
Madagali bordering the Sambisa Forest and the Mandara Mountains has repeatedly served as a corridor for terrorist movements between Nigeria and Cameroon.
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The area fell to Boko Haram in 2014, witnessing mass killings, church burnings, abductions, and the displacement of thousands before government forces reclaimed it.
Despite the liberation of the territory, communities such as Kirchinga, Gulak, Shuwa, Wagga, Hyambula, and Mildu have continued to face intermittent attacks, ambushes, and kidnappings, especially in remote villages close to the forest line.
Security analysts frequently describe Madagali as Adamawa’s most vulnerable and exposed LGA, owing to its rugged terrain and proximity to long-established insurgent hideouts.
The latest attack is especially unnerving because Kirchinga is the home community of Governor Fintiri, who has often spoken about his personal experience of the insurgency’s impact on families in the state’s northern district.
Since assuming office, Governor Fintiri’s administration has invested heavily in security, including:
Recruitment and training of local hunters and vigilante groups to support community policing
Provision of patrol vehicles, motorcycles, and communication gadgets to security agencies
Strengthening joint military–civilian cooperation in Madagali and Michika
Sustained support for displaced persons returning to rebuilt communities
For many residents, Monday’s attack represents a bold and troubling escalation, striking at the symbolic heart of the state’s leadership despite ongoing security interventions.
“This is a message from the terrorists,” a community elder said. “They want to show that nowhere is out of their reach, not even the governor’s village.”
The abduction of Sini’s children adds to a growing pattern of kidnappings across the Madagali–Michika axis, where insurgents often target young male captives for ransom, labour, or forced recruitment.
Families in Kirchinga say the attack has deepened fear, reviving memories of past mass raids that devastated the region. Some residents have already begun fleeing to neighbouring communities.
“We thought the worst was behind us,” said a woman who lost relatives during the 2014 occupation. “Now it looks like the terrorists are coming back in full force.”
Community leaders are calling on the federal government to reinforce military presence in the area, warning that failing to respond decisively could embolden insurgents.
“Madagali needs more boots on the ground, more surveillance, and more support,” a local security volunteer said. “We cannot continue to live between hope and fear.”
As of the time of filing this report, neither the state government nor military authorities have issued an official statement. Security operatives and local vigilantes have intensified search operations in an effort to rescue the abducted boys.
Residents say they remain hopeful but fear that without sustained security pressure, the terrorists may continue to exploit the rugged terrain to torment a region that has suffered far too long.
