On Saturday, the terrorists attacked the farmers working in the rice fields in Koshebe area of Zabarmari village in Jere, Borno State.

Sources said local hunters involved in search operations retrieved 43 bodies of farmers with their throats slit.

It is thought the victims were labourers from Sokoto state in northwest Nigeria, roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) away, who had travelled to the northeast to find work, the AFP reported, quoting Ibrahim Liman, a member of the Civilian JTF.

“There were 60 farmers who were contracted to harvest paddy in the rice fields. Forty-three were slaughtered, with six injured,” Liman said.

The bodies were taken to Zabarmari village, two kilometres away, where they would be kept ahead of burial on Sunday, said resident Mala Bunu who took part in the search and rescue operation.