“Boko Haram attacked the village of Pemi, killed seven people and kidnapped seven more, including a pastor,” Kachallah Usman, secretary of the Chibok local government area, told CNN on Friday.
“They also burned down a church, a pharmacy and several houses,” he added.
Pemi is about 20 kilometers from Chibok, where Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 school girls six years ago.
A man who claims to be Abubakar Shekau, a leader of one of Boko Haram’s factions, also said the group was responsible for the kidnapping of more than 300 schoolboys in the northwest of the country earlier this month, although Governor Aminu Bello Masari made this claim refuted, saying that “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 who reported that gunmen had opened fire in the village. The witness told Chiwar that several houses in the area had been burned down, as well as the Evangelical Church of the Brothers in the village of Pemi.
Several eyewitnesses told CNN that they too heard gunshots and saw people being shot.
According to eyewitness Bomo Ishaku, an international Christian youth organization was holding a parade in the village of Pemi to celebrate Christmas when the attack occurred.
Nkeki Mutah, chairman of the Chibok community in Abuja, told CNN that he believes the village of Pemi was specifically targeted because it is a Christian majority community.
“Since 2018, Boko Haram has been attacking, killing and abducting Chibok almost every two weeks,” Mutah said.
“They want to wipe Chibok off the face of the Earth.”