A state of emergency imposed on Borno and two neighbouring northeast states in May last year has pushed Boko Haram fighters into more remote, rural areas but attacks have continued.
Last Sunday, at least 52 people were killed in Kawuri, some 90 km by road from Gwoza, and 26 died when gunmen stormed a church in Waga Chakawa, in neighbouring Adawama state.
Adamawa is home to Nigeria’s new chief of defence staff, Air Marshall Alex Badeh, who has vowed to defeat Boko Haram by the end of April.
Some analysts believe the Islamists may have interpreted that statement as a challenge.
Friday’s attack in Kaduna also recalls the violence following the last presidential elections in 2011, which saw southern Christian Goodluck Jonathan defeat northern Muslim candidate Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari’s supporters took to the streets in the wake of Jonathan’s win, claiming the vote was rigged. Their protest became violent and more than 800 people were killed in three days of rioting.
Human Rights Watch estimated that more than 500 people were killed, most of the them Muslims, in southern Kaduna, which is predominantly Christian.
Nigeria is almost evenly split between the Muslim majority north and largely Christian south. Religion and ethnicity underpin daily life.
The run-up to the next presidential vote on February 14, 2015 has been dominated by a row between northern Muslims in Jonathan’s ruling party, who claim a candidate from their region should run.
Jonathan has yet to officially declare that he will stand for re-election but his apparent refusal to step aside has prompted a series of defections of governors, lawmakers and senators to the opposition.
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