Boko Haram jihadists shot dead 18 forest workers who had been collecting firewood in Borno State, near the town of Gamboru, on the border with Cameroon.
22 Apr 2018 · Gamboru, Ngala, Borno
Deaths
18
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
18
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Local militias and security officials confirmed the attacks to AFP
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Boko Haram’s strategy of targeting civilians to punish perceived collaboration with the government and military.
Trajectory
Boko Haram continued low-cost hit-and-run ambushes on soft civilian targets such as forest workers to maintain pressure and relevance in border areas after major territorial losses in 2015–2016.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier Boko Haram attacks including the 13 May 2017 – attack on farmers in Borno fields, 19 November 2017 – Dimge farmers’ execution and beheading, 30 December 2017 – Maiwa loggers massacre, 08 January 2018 – Kaje loggers attack with killings and abductions, and 15 January 2018 – Jinene loggers attack involving killings and kidnappings, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram conducts targeted, small-unit attacks on civilians engaged in resource-based livelihoods such as firewood collection, aiming to disrupt economic activity, punish perceived collaboration, and maintain control over rural and border areas through sustained low-intensity violence.
Pattern
Loggers Targeting
Related — Armed Attack
Gunmen attacked Butura Kampani community in Bokkos LGA, Plateau State, killing a woman and injuring two others.
Gunmen killed one person and abducted a teenager in Biri community, Shelleng LGA, Adamawa State.
Unidentified gunmen invaded the residence of Rev. Daniel Umaru of the Ekklesiyan Yanuwa 'a Nigeria (EYN) Evangelical Church of the Brethren Njairi in Mubi LGA, Adamawa State. They shot him and his two sons, who died instantly, and abducted his 13-year-old daughter. His wife, who witnessed the attack, was left in a coma. Rev. Umaru survived but was critically injured and hospitalized.