Boko Haram’s Return Sparks Fear in Northeast Nigeria
By Segun Onibiyo
Mallam Karamti, Borno state–“I buried my family with my own hands,” Ibrahim Abdulrahman recounted to TruthNigeria, his voice heavy with grief. “They were slaughtered like animals.”
According to an eyewitness who introduced the victim to TruthNigeria, “Abdulrahman Ibrahim stood over a freshly dug mass grave, his hands caked with red earth. Just days earlier, he had buried his wife, two children, and dozens of neighbors, victims of a brutal attack by Boko Haram militants on the twin farming villages of Mallam Karamti and Kwatandashi in Borno State.”
On May 15, fighters from the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram descended upon the two villages, accusing residents of collaborating with rival insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Witnesses contacted on telephone told TruthNigeria that more than 100 villagers were rounded up and marched into the bush. By Saturday, 57 bodies had been recovered, many with their throats slit or bearing gunshot wounds. At least 74 others remain missing, presumed abducted.
Another eyewitness told TruthNigeria that the Nigerian military did not respond to requests for comment, and the Borno State government has yet to confirm the casualty figures. Local vigilante groups (community guards) and survivors report that the military’s delayed response hampered search- and rescue efforts. “We had to stop looking for bodies because we feared another ambush,” Ibrahim said.
Mallam Karamti and Kwatandashi are remote farming communities located in the southern part of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. The villages lie near the fringes of the Sambisa Forest, a vast, dense woodland that has long served as a stronghold for Boko Haram factions.
The villages fall within the Local Government Area, 25-kilometers southeast of Maiduguri, the state capital. The area is sparsely populated, with dirt roads that become impassable during the rainy season, making access difficult for security forces and aid workers.
Their proximity to both the Sambisa Forest and the Alagarno region (Northern Yobe State near border with Niger Republic), a notorious ungoverned space sheltering terrorists, makes them especially vulnerable to attacks and ambushes. These locations define a rural corridor where both Boko Haram (JAS) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) compete for territory and civilian allegiance.
This massacre is among the deadliest in Nigeria’s Northeast this year and signals a disturbing resurgence of Boko Haram’s brutality. Considered weakened after the suicide death of its leader in May 2021, the JAS faction increasingly has targeted civilians, especially those suspected of aiding ISWAP.
“Without the capacity to attack the military like ISWAP, JAS is focused on terror … ,” according to Malik Samuel, a conflict analyst with Good Governance Africa.*
The attackers struck during a week of escalating violence in Borno State. On May 12, ISWAP militants overran a Nigerian Army base in Marte, killing several soldiers and seizing weapons. Days later, a roadside bomb exploded near Maiduguri, killing four and injuring more than ten. The Nigerian senate on the same day called upon the federal government to deploy more combat units to Borno and Yobe states, Channels TV reported.
Despite government claims of putting the insurgents on the run, politically motivated attacks have spread beyond the Northeast. Central Nigeria, including the capital Abuja, has been increasingly battered by criminal groups, raising concerns about national security.
The Nigerian Army, with approximately 230,000 active personnel, including 100,000 soldiers in the combat units, for years has struggled to push back insurgents as well as crime gangs called “bandits.”
“The size of the Nigerian Army, while significant on paper, doesn’t reflect the actual force available for counterinsurgency,” said Dr. Kabiru Adamu, a security analyst with Beacon Consulting to TruthNigeria reporter.
“Out of the 230,000 active personnel, only a fraction is deployed in the northeast and even fewer are trained for asymmetric warfare like the kind Boko Haram and ISWAP are waging,” said Adamu.
The challenges go far beyond manpower, he said. “The military suffers from logistical gaps, outdated equipment, and poor morale among troops. Corruption and intelligence failures further undermine operational effectiveness. Numbers alone don’t win insurgencies. What’s lacking is a nimble, intelligence-led, community-rooted approach that prioritizes protection of civilians.”
In the Lake Chad region, an estimated 26,000 vigilantes and hunters have taken up arms to defend their communities.
However, these community defense groups often operate with limited training and resources, raising concerns about their effectiveness and potential for human rights abuses.
Humanitarian agencies struggle to access affected areas due to ongoing violence and funding cuts. In Dikwa, a hub for displaced persons, aid groups are pulling out, leaving vulnerable populations without essential services.
For survivors like Ibrahim, the future remains uncertain he says to TruthNigeria in a telephone interview. “We have no protection, no help,” he said. “We are left to bury our dead and wait for the next attack.”
This latest massacre underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive strategy to address the insurgency, protect civilians, and restore stability to Nigeria’s northeast.
Published accounts of the attack include reports from the Associated Press, Times of India, and Daijiworld.
Segun Onibiyo is a reporter on terrorism and conflicts for TruthNigeria.
