Nigeria: Boko Haram kills 31 fishermen on Lake Chad

Event

Local sources announced on Monday, August 7, that Boko Haram militants had carried out attacks on the islands of Duguri and Dabar Wanzam, located on Lake Chad (northeast) near the city of Baga (Borno state), and killed 31 fishermen working there over the weekend of August 5-6. The attacks occurred just after the army lifted the prohibitions on fishing in this area.

Context

Boko Haram militants use islands located on Lake Chad as a safe haven and authorities prohibited fishing on the lake two years ago due to alleged ties between fisherman and Boko Haram. Although the Nigerian army regained control of Baga from Boko Haram militants in February 2015, the outskirts of the city are not yet secured.

The entire northeastern region of Nigeria is highly susceptible to attacks by Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in March 2015 and formally adopted the name of the Islamic State in West Africa. Public venues (markets, places of worship, schools, areas where broadcasts of sports competitions are displayed, etc.) as well as security forces and governmental buildings are frequently struck by attacks, suicide bombings (targeted or untargeted), and kidnappings (regularly followed by assassination and targeting primarily foreign nationals).

Advice

The security environment in Nigeria is complex and particularly poor in the northeast and extreme south of the country due to the presence of armed groups, high crime rates, and the risk of kidnapping. Some Western governments consequently advise against travel to certain areas of the northeast (e.g. states of Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, and Jigawa as well as parts of Kano and Adamawa states) and the southern Niger Delta region (e.g. states of Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers). Professional security advice and support should be sought prior to travel to these areas.