Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have launched a fresh attack, killing 20 people in Niger State.

The incident took place on Thursday in Bassa community situated in Shiroro local government area of the state.

The gunmen, numbering over 50, attacked the community in broad daylight. According to reports, they gathered residents together before selecting 20 adults for execution at close range.

Ten of the victims, all young men, who refused to be recruited into the sect were beheaded by the militants, who then forced community members to carry the severed heads while they filmed and took photos.

“They told us that anybody who refused to be recruited into their fold will be given a similar treatment. They said they used the ten beheaded youths as an example,” a source disclosed.

“They said they had warned us that everybody should vacate the community but refused. It’s either we joined them or we vacate the community”

This latest massacre comes just two months after a similar attack in Allawa community, also in Shiroro local government area, where nine people were beheaded by Boko Haram militants.

Reacting, Senator Alhaji Mohammed Sani Musa, who represents Niger East Senatorial district, condemned the attack as “barbaric, heartless, and inhuman.”

There has been no reaction from the state government or the state police command as of press time.