A commercial pickup truck carrying local farmers and laborers struck a Pressure-Plate Improvised Explosive Device (PPIED) planted in the middle of the road. The victims were traveling from Pulka to their farmlands in the Firgi area—a notorious flashpoint near the Mandara Mountains. The blast was so powerful it completely mangled the vehicle, killing nearly everyone on board instantly.
29 Jan 2024 · Pulka/Firgi road, Gwoza, Borno
Deaths
13
Injured
0
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
13
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Military personnel from the 26 Task Force Brigade in Gwoza deployed to the scene to recover the remains and sweep the area for secondary devices. The victims were later buried in Pulka amidst a massive community mourning.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Disrupting food production, punishing communities, asserting control over mobility corridors.
Trajectory
Insurgents weaponize hunger by attacking farmers, ensuring dependence on insurgent-controlled supply chains or humanitarian aid.
Cycle notes
Mirrors earlier farmer-targeted massacres (Mafa 2017, Zabarmari 2020) but executed through IEDs rather than direct assault.
Pattern
The Mining Of Livelihoods — This incident marks a shift from "Targeted Ambushes" to "Area Denial." By mining the roads leading to fertile lands in Firgi, insurgents are effectively "locking" the community out of their food supply. This creates a psychological barrier where farmers are too terrified to leave the garrison town of Pulka, leading to artificial famine.
Related — Bombing/IED
A teenage female suicide bomber detonated explosives at a crowded bus station. The bomber managed to pass through security checks at the entrance and walked into a crowd before detonating her device. Witnesses described the scene as littered with dismembered and mutilated bodies. Most victims were children who had been selling peanuts or begging at the station. An angry mob reportedly prevented emergency workers from retrieving the bomber's remains and set them on fire
Two female suicide bombers attempted to attack a busy cattle market a day after Christmas. One of the bombers detonated her explosives, resulting in her own death. The second bomber was stopped from detonating her device—according to police, she was "lynched by an irate mob nearby," while other sources reported that she was arrested by vigilant soldiers. Security forces later safely detonated her unexploded device.
A car bomb exploded at the Nyanya bus station during the morning rush hour, targeting commuters heading to work. The blast ripped through a crowd of people waiting for buses, killing at least 88 people and wounding over 200 others. The explosion was so powerful that it left a deep crater and destroyed dozens of vehicles.