Boko Haram fighters on a fightback strategy stormed Alau-Kofa village, firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades. They burnt the entire village to the ground along with the residents' food supplies. Two civilians were burnt alive in the attack. The attackers specifically came to steal cattle but were forced to abandon the herds when soldiers arrived.
4 Feb 2018 · Alau-Kofa, Konduga, Borno
Deaths
2
Injured
1
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
3
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
The attack occurred just days after the Nigerian military announced they had "completely defeated" Boko Haram in the Sambisa Forest. Major General Rogers Nicholas, leading operations against the jihadists, stated on February 5 that the group was in disarray and "completely defeated" in the forest . Yet the Alau-Kofa attack, along with others, contradicted this narrative
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Boko Haram’s strategy of targeting civilians to punish perceived collaboration with the government and military.
Trajectory
Early February 2018 continued the pattern of low-intensity hit-and-run village raids after major territorial losses in 2015–2016, aimed at maintaining pressure on soft civilian targets near Maiduguri.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier Boko Haram attacks including the 13 December 2014 Gumsuri village assault involving killings, abductions, and large-scale arson, the 24 April 2016 Alau village attack, the 15 June 2016 Kau–Tuva raid combining killings with destruction of homes and supplies, the 10 February 2017 Mussa village raid targeting livestock and food resources, and the 12 August 2017 Amarwa night raid involving shootings, arson, and looting, reflecting a recurring pattern of punitive village raids that combine arson, livestock theft, and destruction of food supplies to weaken rural resilience, punish perceived collaboration, and sustain insurgent logistics through predatory resource extraction.
Pattern
Village raids
Related — Armed Attack
Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists, fleeing the Nigerian military's clearance operations in the Sambisa Forest, launched a surprise attack on the agrarian community of Bayamari. During the attack, the assailants killed seven villagers and four policemen who were trying to protect the people.
Gunmen abducted two persons in Oreke community, Ifelodun LGA, Kwara State.
Suspected Boko Haram Islamists launched coordinated attacks on a prison, a police station, and a local government office in Konduga town, Borno State, located about 35 km from Maiduguri. The assault, which began at about 8:00 pm, involved gunfire and explosives. The police station was set ablaze, and the prison was attacked, although there were no reports of a successful jailbreak. Three police officers were wounded. The attackers also reportedly destroyed two churches – a Roman Catholic Church and the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (Ekilisaya Yan’uwa a Nigeria) – using sirens to pose as security agents and catch the town off guard.