Even Before Chibok, We Saw Boko Haram Attack Buni Yadi Where They Killed 59 Schoolchildren- Bukarti

In an interview with Channels Television, Bulama Bukarti, a lawyer and security consultant, has revealed that even before the Chibok abduction, they had seen Boko Haram attack Buni Yadi, where they allegedly killed 59 schoolchildren.

The security analyst Bulama Bukarti has attributed Boko Haram’s pattern of attacking schools to a combination of ideological belief and logistical planning, arguing that educational institutions have been a central target since the group’s emergence in the early 2000s.

Bukarti explained that the name commonly associated with the group is often interpreted to mean that Western-style education is forbidden in Islam, though he described that interpretation as incorrect. He noted that from the group’s earliest preaching in Borno State, schools featured prominently in its violent rhetoric before later becoming targets of physical assaults.

According to Bukarti, attacks on schools occurred well before the Chibok abduction, citing the assault on Buni Yadi, where 59 schoolchildren were killed and some were set ablaze. He said such incidents illustrate how targeting education served both the group’s ideological aims and its broader operational goals from the outset.

In his words, he said, “Even before the Chibok abduction, we saw dastardly attacks, gruesome attacks in places like Buni Yadi, where they killed 59 schoolchildren. They slaughtered 59 schoolchildren and burned some of them alive.”