Boko Haram fighters in trucks fitted with machine guns launched a dawn raid on the army base (25 Task Force Brigade, Army Super Camp 2). The insurgents attempted to infiltrate the base from three different fronts. Troops responded with support from the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole, engaging in a fierce battle that lasted over an hour. The attack was repelled, with troops capturing weapons and pursuing fleeing insurgents.
4 Mar 2020 · Damboa, Damboa, Borno
Deaths
28
Injured
50
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
78
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, Nigerian Army Operations Media Coordinator, issued an official statement detailing the army's repulsion of the attack, the casualties, and weapons recovered. The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, congratulated troops for their "decisive victory"
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Boko Haram’s attempt to overrun a major forward operating base (Super Camp) to weaken Nigerian military presence and boost insurgent morale in Damboa.
Trajectory
Early 2020 saw Boko Haram maintain pressure through coordinated dawn assaults on Super Camps using vehicle-mounted machine guns, even as ISWAP operated as a rival faction in the Lake Chad region.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier insurgent attacks including 14 July 2018 – Jilli base attack overwhelming troops through deception and superior firepower, 18 November 2018 – Metele assault involving large convoys and heavy weapons against a military base, 08 September 2018 – Gudumbali overrun leading to temporary insurgent control, 05 August 2019 – Monguno clash involving sustained assault on a major garrison town, and 14 August 2019 – Polo base attack testing defenses within Maiduguri, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram conducts coordinated, multi-directional assaults on fortified military positions (including Super Camps), using vehicle-mounted weapons and numerical advantage to probe defenses, attempt overruns, and sustain pressure on key operational hubs despite increasing reliance on defensive military consolidation strategies.
Pattern
Military Base Assault
Related — Armed Attack
On the eve of the Eid-el-Kabir festival, suspected Boko Haram insurgents fired at least four mortar bombs into Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, from the Kaleri area on the city's outskirts. The explosives landed in the densely populated neighborhoods of Mairi, Custom (near Mansur Motors), Gwange (including Gwange II Primary School), and Gidan Ayaba Ngudiba line. The attack caused panic among residents preparing for the festival, killing at least 6 people and injuring 27 others. One victim was a 19-year-old named Godfrey Ebele, who was killed in front of his home.
Armed gunmen attacked Tarangol community in Bokkos LGA, Plateau State, killing cows and abducting two children.
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen launched coordinated attacks on multiple police formations in Kano, including Jakara Police Barracks, Dala Police Division, the 52 Squadron of the Mobile Police Force, and a junior secondary school in Sabuwar Doka. The attacks began in Dala and spread to Sharada, with security forces repelling the assaults after prolonged gun battles. One police officer was confirmed killed, while 17 insurgents were killed and three were arrested. The attackers had reportedly intended to assault Goron Dutse prison to free prisoners, but the plan was thwarted by security forces.