It is less than a month to Nigeria’s crucial presidential election, but while the aspirants tour the country to woo electorates, somewhere in the country’s northeast, hundreds of bodies are littered across two towns as Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, strikes again.

New satellite images have shown the enormity of the group’s latest attack in the two towns of Borno State, in an onslaught that is believed to have caused almost 200 deaths and the burning of about 100 houses. The militant group, on January 3, stormed Baga and Doron Baga, in an attack human rights group, Amnesty International, described as the “deadliest” in the history of Boko Haram. Local estimates had earlier put the death toll at 2,000, but Nigeria’s military was quick to dismiss it, saying not more than 150 people were killed. Soldiers included in the casualties headcount.

The pre and post-attack photographs capturing the scourge at Doron Baga, one of the towns struck, show how ferocious the attack was. Over 3,100 structures were either damaged or destroyed by fire, while 620 structures suffered a similar fate in Baga, the second town pounded by Boko Haram. Only 2.5 km of dry land separate both towns. “It represents a deliberate attack on civilians whose homes, clinics and schools are now burnt-out ruins,” said Daniel Eyre, Nigeria researcher for Amnesty International. “Up until now, the isolation of the Baga combined with the fact that Boko Haram remains in control of the area has meant that it has been very difficult to verify what happened there.”

The Nigerian military’s spokesman however said that Boko Haram had never been considered to be in control of any part of Nigeria.

Doro Baga Satellite view on 2 Jan 2015 and 7 Jan 2015
Doro Baga Satellite view on 2 Jan 2015 and 7 Jan 2015

“Yes, the activities of terrorism – they are prevalent in certain isolated communities, here and there. It is part of the reality of the moment, we recognize such as a thing to be addressed, but we have never considered that any portion of Nigeria is under their control,” Major General Chris Olukolade told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour over a phone interview on Thursday.

So for Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and biggest oil producer, it is not only the falling oil prices that is dealing blows to its economic progress, the inability of the country to deal with home-grown terrorism seems to be exactly that. While Nigeria dawdles in facing reality, it is having to contend with both human and economic losses. Oil prices have fallen below $48 per barrel and, according to a forecast by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, it could fall to as low as $31 per barrel by the end of the first quarter of 2015. With the future of oil looking bleak, Nigeria would have done a great service to its people by ensuring the North, the hotspot for agriculture – its second most lucrative sector – is safe.

Borno State is essentially an agrarian society, but incessant attacks is making the it desolate. Agriculture accounts for about a fifth of Nigeria’s GDP and employs more than 35 percent of youths aged 18 to 35, but now that it is mostly needed to make up for the country’s losses to slumping oil prices, it is starting to show signs of strain.

“The effects of conflict on the agricultural sector are largely due to the risk of being attacked by insurgents,” according to a Brookings report published last July. “People across all value chains feared movement outside protected areas because of attacks by insurgents.”

“The impact of [Boko Haram] on the Nigerian economy is localized for now, but the instability has had an effect on the agricultural products from the north and has severely reduced cross-border trade with Cameroon, Chad and Niger,” the report says.

In Doron Baga, a predominantly fishing and farming community, the satellite image after the attack showed that many of the wooden fishing boats that were spotted on the shoreline before the attack are no longer visible. Many villagers had fled by boat in panic across Lake Chad. With panic and fear still afresh, businesses will most likely remained closed for the foreseeable future while farmers will abandon their crops and animals.

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