Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a car carrying a Christian family on their way to church for Sunday service. The attackers shot and killed the woman and her child instantly. The husband was rushed to the hospital but died later from his wounds. The couple's other child, who was also in the vehicle, escaped unhurt.
25 Nov 2012 · Kwanar Masallachi neighborhood, Kano Municipal, Kano
Deaths
3
Injured
0
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
3
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Kano State Police spokesman Magaji Majia confirmed the attack to international media, stating: "Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the car, killing the woman and her child on the spot while her husband died later in hospital". The injured husband was taken to an unspecified hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Boko Haram had long declared Christians as enemies and targeted them to exacerbate sectarian tensions and undermine the Christian-majority federal government
Trajectory
This tactic was harder to prevent than church bombings because it did not require large amounts of explosives and relied on the element of surprise in quiet residential streets.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier targeted assassinations of Christian civilians by Boko Haram, including the 6 January 2012 Mubi attacks on Christian mourners and the 28 May 2012 shootings of Igbo Christian traders in Maiduguri, by singling out non-Muslim residents for execution in urban areas to intimidate minority communities and deepen sectarian divisions. The incident also foreshadowed later targeted killings of Christian civilians in the northeast, including the 24 December 2012 Piri village church attack outside Potiskum and the 26 September 2013 Dorawa church attack in Yobe State, reflecting the insurgent group’s recurring pattern of selectively targeting Christian individuals and families.
Pattern
Sectarian Targeted Killings
Related — Targeted Killing
Dr. Rabe Nasir, the Katsina State Commissioner for Science and Technology, was assassinated at his residence in the Fatima Shema Estate, Katsina metropolis. The 65-year-old former House of Representatives member was stabbed in the stomach in his sitting room; his body was then dragged into a toilet and locked inside. His lifeless body was discovered on Thursday afternoon, 9 December 2021, after his house boy raised an alarm upon noticing traces of blood. Governor Aminu Bello Masari later clarified that the killing was "purely an assassination" by professional killers, not a bandit attack, noting that "not a single pin was stolen in his house" and the residence was not broken into.
In a daring strike, Boko Haram gunmen shot dead a soldier from a special military unit deployed in Maiduguri. The soldier was on duty outside the city’s main market – the sprawling Monday Market – and was shot several times at close range around 11:00 pm local time. The attackers, believed to have trailed him, opened fire when he was alone. The sect’s ability to operate at night, when the market was closed and the area relatively empty, underscored its growing tactical reach.
Babakura Fugu, the eldest son of the late Baba Fugu Mohammed and brother‑in‑law to the deceased Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, was assassinated outside his residence in the Railway Quarters of Maiduguri. The killing occurred just 48 hours after Fugu had hosted former President Olusegun Obasanjo for a highly publicised, private peace mediation meeting. A lone gunman, reportedly wearing a traditional brown kaftan, approached Fugu while he was sitting with friends and pulled an AK‑47 from his robes, shooting him multiple times. The attack took place on Saturday, 17 September 2011, at about 12:30 pm.