Jihadist group linked to IS kill 20 in Nigeria town for refusing to pay 'cattle tax'

Several hundred gunmen from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) invaded the isolated agricultural and herding town of Kayayya in Yobe State, Nigeria late on Monday night, 150 kilometers from Damaturu, the state capital, tossing explosives and starting a firefight, according to the individuals. “At approximately 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), the terrorists launched an attack on the village using guns and explosives, while the villagers were enjoying their evening conversation,” stated Gremah Bukar, a militia member supporting the military in their struggle against the jihadists. “Those residents who attempted to escape were then shot at by them. Five others were hurt and 17 people were killed, according to Bukar. According to a Yobe state police report, 20 people were killed and parts of the village razed before the militants fled. A Yobe state security official did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation. The attack was in response to the villagers’ refusal to pay jihadists a tax they demanded on cattle, Abubakar Adamu, said another militia member who gave the same toll. Militants and armed groups in remote parts of Nigeria sometimes demand “taxes” on communities as a way to exercise control and raise funds. Babagana Kyari, a resident of Geidam town, said the five injured in the Kayayya attack were taken to the general hospital in the town for medical attention. “One of the injured victims said the ISWAP insurgents attacked the village because they told them they would not pay the cattle levy they imposed on the village,” said Kyari who visited the injured at the hospital. A Yobe state police report said 20 people were killed and that parts of the village were razed before the militants fled. Over the last two years, jihadists have carried out attacks beyond their stronghold in northeast Borno State, the heart of the country’s 14-year-long Islamist militant conflict. Yobe, Borno state’s immediate neighbour, has also borne the brunt of the jihadist violence, including deadly raids on villages, military bases, schools and markets, as well as mass abductions. In April last year, ISWAP jihadists killed 11 people in attacks on bars and a technical college in Geidam, days after six people were killed and 16 injured in an explosion targeting another bar in northeastern Taraba state. On Wednesday ISWAP claimed responsibility for an explosion at a bar in northeast Taraba state the day before which local police said killed six people and injured 16 others. Nigeria’s jihadist conflict has killed 40,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast since it erupted in 2009, according to the UN. (with inputs from agencies)