Far North: Boko Haram victims still struggling to rebuild lives.

She said her farm yield use to serve her family while part was often sold. But this is not the story anymore. Madi noted that she now finds herself in Maduli-Dargala some 37km from the Far North's chief town, Maroua, holding a child who cries day and night.

"When I was in our village, I was farming. Now I do nothing but take care of my child who cries often these days," Madi stated, adding that:  "I am not feeling too well. There's not enough food".

Madi is one of more than 800 people who fled Salé and Zizague, in Waza sub-division, Logone and Chari Division, after renewed Boko Haram attacks emptied villages recently. 

They arrived in Maroua on the 10th of September 2026 and were hosted at the Yaya Daïrou Stadium. Later, they were moved to Maduli-Dargala, where aid groups counted 742 people.

Here, the sand is where children now play. Men gather in small groups, exchanging in low voices. Women hunch over pots, cooking the little they have.

Saïd Hassan sits under a small tree. He is 70. He said he said left Salé the same night it was attacked by the terrorist group.

"We could not go out during the day nor sleep at night. What is the point of staying there? We can no longer go about our occupations. Even our children can no longer be sent outside, for fear of being taken hostage,” Hassan told The Guardian Post.

He also noted that “at night, we do not sleep, because we have to keep watch, hunting rifles in hand, for fear of being surprised or killed in our sleep”.

Another displaced person, Danah Abdoulaye whom we encountered was finding it difficult to coordinate his thoughts. 

"We preferred to leave and left everything because the situation is becoming more and more complex," he stated, noting that more displaced persons continue to arrive.

He lamented that children have seen their education disrupted while everything the laboured for has been abandoned on the farms due to insecurity.

"Here, almost everyone has lost a loved one, or ended up with a leg cut off or some physical or psychological after effects because of the group," Danah added.

In Maduli, Danah said there is no water and there are no toilets. Rice and soap brought by humanitarians finishes in days, he disclosed. Water, he explained, must now be searched for over long distances.

Since their arrival, the IDPs have received visits from authorities including the Governor of the Far North Region. Most of these families say they wish to return   to other localities they consider more secure.

Since 2014, Boko Haram and ISWAP have carried out several attacks across the Far North Region especially on the border with Nigeria.

Local sources said at least 17 villages have been deserted in recent months alone. In September, an attack in the region killed 13 people and injured several others, forcing more families to flee toward Waza and Maroua, reports indicated.

However, government is reinforcing its military presence. The government has deployed a special unit of about 1,000 soldiers to the Far North and announced plans to build new barracks in Waza.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3944 of Monday October 19, 2026