Rival jihadist groups Boko Haram’s Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fought intense battles for control of strategic island settlements in Borno State’s Abadam and Kukawa local government areas between November 5 and 8, security analysts say.
An exclusive report by counter‑insurgency expert Zagazola Makama said fighting took place across a string of islands and riverine basins identified as Sahel 1, Dogon Chuku, Mangari and the river basins of Tumbun Gini, Tumbun Dalo, Tumbun Shanu, Mangari and Dumba. The report describes coordinated amphibious assaults by Boko Haram units under commanders identified as Hassan Buduma and Mohd Hassan, using motorized watercraft armed with heavy weapons to strike ISWAP positions.
Makama’s account says Boko Haram advanced from Tumbun Gini through the upper river basin in a pre‑dawn offensive that forced ISWAP fighters to abandon several camps and withdraw toward mainland hideouts around Ali Jillimari, Metele, Kangarwa and Gudumbali. The number of casualties is unclear; intelligence surveillance, the report adds, detected bodies floating in waterways and others buried in shallow sand pits.
According to the report, Boko Haram’s objective is to dislodge ISWAP from the Lake Chad islands and seize control of supply and smuggling corridors that link Nigeria with Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Those routes are believed to generate significant revenue through the extortion of fishermen, traders and transport operators.
ISWAP has held relative dominance in parts of the Lake Chad islands since 2021 following the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau. Analysts say receding water levels in the Lake Chad Basin have reopened land routes and exposed former fishing settlements, creating new lines of contestation and flashpoints for violence.
Security sources cited in the report warn that the clashes signal a shift from episodic skirmishes to a sustained territorial campaign. They say more ambushes, roadside bombs and attacks on transport links — including routes connecting Metele, Kangarwa and the Maiduguri–Damasak highway — are likely in the near term.
Communities in Kukawa and Abadam LGAs, especially fishermen, transport operators and farmers, are expected to bear the immediate impact of the fighting as both factions carry out retaliatory raids and disrupt livelihoods. Observers say the intensifying confrontation in the difficult, watery terrain of the Lake Chad Basin is compounding humanitarian needs and leaving civilians trapped between rival armed groups.
Attempts to reach military or local government spokespeople for comment were unsuccessful at the time of publication. The volatility on the islands underscores renewed security and humanitarian challenges for authorities and relief agencies operating in the northeast.
