In a bold daylight provocation, Boko Haram militants launched an assault on a joint military-police checkpoint in Kano. The attackers approached the security post and hurled improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to disorient the personnel before opening fire with small arms. A brisk exchange of gunfire followed, but the security forces held their positions, forcing the insurgents to retreat into the dense urban alleys of the city.
22 Feb 2012 · Tinshama/Tishama area, Kano Municipal, Kano
Deaths
0
Injured
0
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
0
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
The Joint Task Force (JTF) immediately cordoned off the area and conducted a sweep of nearby residences. While no arrests were made at the scene, the military seized unexploded ordnance. This incident led to the further "hardening" of Kano's checkpoints, including the use of sandbagged bunkers and zigzag vehicle barriers.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Undermining military morale, demonstrating insurgent presence, probing defenses.
Trajectory
This incident occurred at the tail end of the intense escalation in Kano in late February 2012, following the January 20 mass attacks and the February 6 police station assault, and reflects a tactical shift toward lower-risk, dispersed strikes on fortified positions after earlier high-casualty operations such as the January 20 Kano attacks and the February 7 Kaduna military site assaults. The absence of casualties suggests a probing or failed attempt rather than a major offensive, while also fitting Boko Haram’s early 2012 strategy of frequent, often low-casualty but disruptive checkpoint attacks that preceded further church bombings in March 2012 and continued checkpoint violence across the region.
Cycle notes
The raid on a checkpoint directly mirrored a similar attack on a police checkpoint in Minna, Niger, on 17 February 2012, just five days earlier. The modus operandi was identical: attackers arriving in the early morning, using IEDs, and engaging in a gunbattle. This pattern of checkpoint attacks became a recurring feature of the insurgency in 2012, demonstrating the group’s ability to strike at will and forcing the security forces into a reactive posture.
Pattern
Attacks on Military Checkpoints — insurgents harass and test army positions.
Related — Armed Attack
In a massive nighttime assault, dozens of Boko Haram gunmen launched a coordinated raid on the Gombe State Police Command Headquarters and a nearby divisional station. The attack began with the detonation of several improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to breach the perimeter, followed by a heavy firefight using assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). The insurgents aimed to overawe the state's security apparatus and likely targeted the armory and detention cells.
On Friday, 31 January 2014, at approximately 8:30 p.m., a large group of suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked the EYN Church (Church of the Brethren) at Sabo Gari Gemadai Ward in Gulak, the headquarters of Madagali Local Government Area, Adamawa State. The worshippers were gathered for a night vigil when the attackers stormed the church and began shooting sporadically, killing the pastor and 10 members of his congregation. This attack occurred less than a week after the massacre at the Catholic Church in Chakawa village (26 January), which had killed over 35 persons.
Gunmen killed two youths returning from a security meeting in Dorowa Babuje community, Barkin Ladi LGA, Plateau State.