Surge in attacks signals jihadist comeback in Nigeria’s northeast

A surge in attacks in Nigeria’s northeast by Boko Haram and its splinter rival ISWAP has raised fears of a major comeback by jihadists, whose tactics now include armed drones and explosive devices planted on major roads, security experts said.

At least 22 people were killed in weekend raids by militants in Adamawa and Borno states, while 26 others died on Monday after an explosive device ripped into two vehicles in Borno.

Dozens more have been killed by a string of jihadist attacks since January.

In Borno state, the heartland of the insurgency for over 15 years, governor Babagana Zulum has warned that insurgents were making gains, with little push back from the military.

Security experts attributed the resurgence to a lull in fighting between Boko Haram and Islamic West Africa Province (ISWAP) and the adoption of aerial technology by the groups.

“Both groups have become a bit bolder and showed they have some sophisticated technology,” said James Barnett, a Hudson Institute research fellow who conducts fieldwork on insecurity in Nigeria.

The use of armed drones also suggested ISWAP was receiving more funding from Islamic State, analysts said.

Last month, insurgents used drones to attack a military outpost near the Cameroonian border, killing several soldiers.

Vincent Foucher, a research fellow at the French National Centre for Scientific Research who has interviewed former fighters, said there were reports that Islamic State advisers had been sent in to help ISWAP fighters on the ground.

“They can improve the tactics and we have seen the use of drones and explosives and large-scale attacks. This could be taken as impact of the advice from the Islamic State,” Foucher said.

Boko Haram and ISWAP had fought bitterly for supremacy since splitting in 2016.

But Foucher said “they are less busy fighting each other and have more time to carry out attacks.”

Last Friday, Zulum told reporters that militants were regrouping in the Lake Chad area and Sambisa hills in Borno, near the Cameroonian border.

The Nigerian military did not respond to a request for comment.

Malik Samuel, a senior researcher at security think-tank Good Governance Africa, said jihadists had shown to be resilient and adaptive to strategies deployed by the military.

“Their current resurgence mirrors previous periods when they took the fight to the military, instead of waiting for the military to attack before repelling them,” he said.