A group of more than 40 loggers left Shehuri, on the outskirts of Gamboru, on Thursday morning to collect firewood in the Wulgo forest. They failed to return by evening as usual. The following day (Friday), a search party mobilized by local militia leaders went deep into the forest and recovered three bodies identified as among the loggers. All three were shot from behind, indicating they were killed while attempting to escape. The remaining loggers were presumed kidnapped by Boko Haram, which maintains camps in the forest.

Perpetrators

Boko Haram

Response

A group of local militia members and residents mobilized to search the forest after the loggers failed to return. They recovered three bodies on Friday but found no trace of the remaining loggers, who were presumed kidnapped

Displacement

0

Socioeconomic drivers

Disrupting rural livelihoods (firewood collection) to create fear, economic hardship, and possible forced labour or ransom revenue in Borno forests.

Trajectory

By late 2020, Boko Haram continued low-cost ambushes and abductions of loggers/firewood collectors in remote forest areas as an asymmetric tactic to sustain operations and exert control despite territorial losses.

Cycle notes

This incident mirrors earlier attacks including the April 2018 Gamboru-area attack on firewood collectors/loggers (in which 18 loggers were killed near Wulgo forest), the 18 July 2019 Damasak aid-worker abductions, the 27 August 2019 Wajirko killings of construction workers, the 13 June 2020 multi-village raids in Borno State, and the mid-July 2020 farmer attacks in areas such as Boftari (Chibok LGA, Borno State). Collectively, these incidents reflect a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram and ISWAP target civilians engaged in farming, logging/firewood collection, aid work, construction, and other livelihood activities through killings, abductions, and intimidation. The objective is often to disrupt local economies, deter perceived collaboration with the government, generate ransom opportunities, and reinforce insurgent control over remote rural and forested areas in northeastern Nigeria.

Pattern

Loggers Targeting

Sources

• https://www.citizen.co.za/news/news-world/news-africa/jihadists-snatch-dozens-of-loggers-in-nigeria-kill-three/
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/26/boko-haram-kidnaps-40-loggers-and-kills-three-in-north-east-nigeria
• https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/27/at-least-40-loggers-feared-abducted-in-northeast-nigeria?traffic_source=KeepReading