Gunmen killed at least 29 people in a village in northeastern Nigeria's Adamawa state, local officials said. The Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack, though it did not specify a motive.
Authorities and residents reported that militants stormed a football pitch where people had gathered and opened fire indiscriminately. They also burned houses, places of worship, and motorcycles.
State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri described the assault as an "affront to our humanity." He visited the scene and posted on X that security operations were being intensified to restore peace.
The governor's media office said the attack in Guyaku village (Gombi local government area) lasted several hours. A spokesperson wrote on Facebook that the "atmosphere in the community remains tense, with grief and fear evident." Many families have abandoned their homes over concerns of further attacks.
The restive region bordering Cameroon has seen repeated attacks by local criminal gangs and affiliates of IS in recent years. Earlier this month, almost 400 people were sentenced in mass trials for links with Boko Haram and its rival splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).
Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria's northeast in 2009, leading to tens of thousands of deaths and displacing over two million people. The jihadist conflict has spread to neighboring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.
The Nigerian government faces intense pressure to curb rising insecurity ahead of general elections in January. Late last year, the US launched strikes against IS-linked militants in northwestern Nigeria.