A large contingent of Boko Haram militants, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, launched a massive multi‑target attack on the town of Geidam, the headquarters of Geidam Local Government Area in Yobe State. The insurgents, arriving in large numbers, first hurled explosives at the divisional police headquarters, freeing suspects and stealing arms before setting the building ablaze. They then rampaged through the town, attacking six churches, a high court, a shopping complex, the local government secretariat, and a bank, which was looted. The attackers also bombed an abandoned beer parlour and looted shops, firing indiscriminately for several hours.
26 Nov 2011 · Geidam, Geidam, Yobe
Deaths
0
Injured
4
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
4
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
The Yobe State government declared a state of emergency in the area, and the military intensified patrols along the border with the Niger Republic, as Geidam is a major transit point for cross‑border smuggling and movement. Police spokesman reported that the police station was bombed and fire was exchanged into the night.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Undermining state authority, spreading fear, destroying symbols of governance and community life.
Trajectory
The Geidam raid served as a "laboratory" for the large-scale territorial takeovers of 2014. It proved that if the group could destroy the town’s administrative heart, the state's authority would collapse even if the military still held a nearby outpost.
Cycle notes
This Geidam attack directly echoed the 4 November 2011 Damaturu attacks, which also targeted a police station, churches, and government buildings in a coordinated fashion. The tactic of using the police station as the primary target to neutralise security, then attacking other symbols of state and religion, was repeated. The attack also prefigured the 20 January 2012 “Kano Blitz” , in which police stations, immigration offices, and other government facilities were simultaneously bombed and stormed. The cycle of “arrest of members → retaliation attack” became a recurring pattern in Boko Haram‘s relationship with the stat
Pattern
Coordinated urban offensive
Related — Insurgency
Boko Haram insurgents attacked two 330KVA power transmission towers in Kasaisa, Damaturu. The attackers used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to blow up the towers, which were part of the Gombe–Damaturu–Maiduguri transmission line. The destruction cut off electricity supply from Gombe to Yobe and Borno states, plunging residents of both states into darkness.
A major confrontation erupted between Boko Haram insurgents and Nigerian security forces in the Pompomari (Pompari) district of Damaturu, Yobe State. The insurgents, who had been gathering in the area for several days, launched a coordinated assault using heavy weaponry and multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Unlike previous “hit-and-run” tactics, this was a sustained pitched battle that lasted over 30 hours and devastated residential areas. Boko Haram fighters advanced from their stronghold in the suburb, engaging soldiers and police in fierce gunfights, setting buildings ablaze, and laying siege to the area. The violence prompted the state government to declare a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
Insurgents from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, attacked Takulashi Shikarkir ward in Chibok LGA. The insurgents invaded the town in the evening, shooting sporadically, forcing hundreds of residents to flee into the forests for safety.