Abuja, Nov 29 (IANS): Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned an attack on farmers in the northeastern state of Borno, which has reportedly killed dozens of people.

"I condemn the killing of our hardworking farmers by terrorists in Borno State. The entire country is hurt by these senseless killings," Buhari said in a statement on Saturday, the first official confirmation since the incident took place earlier in the day.

The attack occurred after some farmers harvesting their products apprehended a Boko Haram militant who approached them with a request for food, Xinhua news agency quoted local media reports as saying.

The statement, however, did not give the figure of casualties, but said the victims were attacked and killed on rice fields at Zabarmari, a town in Jere local government area of Borno.

Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin.