Suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists launched a deadly attack on Tunbun Rogo, a fishing village in the Kukawa LGA of Borno State. The attackers rounded up the fishermen, who were from Monguno, Doron Baga, Cross Kauwa, and Baga towns. According to an eyewitness, the terrorists claimed they wanted to "preach" to the fishermen before their commander ordered their execution. Thirty-one fishermen were killed, while 40 others managed to escape.
28 May 2024 · Tunbun Rogo, Kukawa, Borno
Deaths
31
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
31
Perpetrators
Boko Haram /ISWAP
Response
National President of the Fish Dealers Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Laminu, confirmed the incident, stating: "We are saddened by the killing of our fishermen by the terrorists in Baga. Forty fisherman are still missing as of today. We call on the government and Nigerian military to do more in protecting citizens against attacks from the terrorists."
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Boko Haram and ISWAP have increasingly targeted fishermen in the Lake Chad region as part of their strategy to disrupt local economies and source supplies. A source revealed that the terrorists often target fishermen when their logistics are blocked by the military, stealing from them.
Trajectory
The attack occurred just 24 hours after the Secretary to the Government of Federation, George Akume, claimed President Bola Tinubu-led government had defeated Boko Haram in their first year in office, highlighting the gap between official narratives and on-ground realities.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier attacks including 26 September 2019 – Baga fishing community massacre involving large-scale civilian executions, 12 February 2020 – Lake Chad fishing settlements attacks disrupting livelihoods, 13 June 2020 – Monguno and surrounding Lake Chad basin raids targeting civilians and aid infrastructure, 27 March 2021 – Doron Baga and Kukawa corridor attacks involving mass killings of civilians, and 19 January 2022 – repeated assaults on fishing routes around Baga and Cross Kauwa, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province systematically target Lake Chad fishing communities—both to punish civilian economic activity, extract resources, and assert territorial control—through mass executions framed as “interrogation” or coercive preaching, thereby destabilizing one of the region’s key livelihood systems and reinforcing insurgent dominance over waterways and remote settlements.
Pattern
Fishing Community Targeting
Related — Armed Attack
Boko Haram insurgents attacked two tractor drivers while they were working on a farm in Jere LGA. The victims were operating tractors when the insurgents struck.
Boko Haram gunmen targeted a bakery in the Polo area of Maiduguri, where five labourers were shot dead. Additional attacks in the city included the fatal shooting of a customs officer at Gamboru market and a water vendor in another district.
A large group of heavily armed gunmen, suspected to be Boko Haram militants, launched a coordinated assault on multiple targets in Ganye, the headquarters of Ganye Local Government Area in Adamawa State. The attackers, arriving on motorcycles and in vehicles, used bombs, machine guns, and rocket‑propelled grenades (RPGs) in simultaneous attacks on the divisional police station, the prison, the residence of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), a branch of First Bank, a library, courts, and two beer parlours. A total of 25 people were killed, including a former commissioner for health (Adiel Bilae), a deputy prison comptroller (Baba Musa), a policeman, the proprietor of a beer parlour and his wife. The attackers blasted open the prison gates and cells, freeing 127 inmates. The police were unable to contain the attackers due to their superior firepower. Troops and police were later deployed to the town, recovering three unexploded bombs, a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition.