Nigeria is adjusting how it conducts air operations against armed groups as part of an updated security arrangement with the United States. Under the new framework, Nigerian fighter aircraft will increasingly rely on U.S. reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering...
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Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria
By Leslie Varenne, MondAfrique: The American strikes carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day raise serious questions. Beyond the confusion surrounding the objectives of the operation, inconsistencies in official statements, and the unclear nature of the targets, the...
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Nigeria: Cash-strapped Boko Haram kidnaps herders for ransom
Posted On 7 June 2023
Boko Haram jihadists have kidnapped 30 ethnic Fulani herders near northeast Nigeria’s Lake Chad, demanding ransom for their release, fishermen and the head of an anti-jihadist militia told AFP Tuesday. The militants in eight boats stormed the fishing and herding villages of Tudun Kwastan, Kwatar Turare and Kwatar Kuwait on the shores of the lake on Friday, seizing 30 herders, including men and women, the sources said. “The Boko Haram insurgents went to selected Fulani homes in the villages and took away 30 men and women,” Labo Sani, a fisherman from nearby Doron Baga, told AFP.
“They left a message asking the hostages’ families to raise 20 million naira ($43,000) for their release,” Labo said. The militants demanded the ransom be delivered to Musaram island, where the hostages would be released to their families, said Sallau Arzika, another fisherman. Since Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) split from Boko Haram in 2016, it has seized control of most territory from Boko Haram, including around Lake Chad, where it now has a strong presence.
The group allowed fishermen and herders to fish and graze in its territory after paying tax, providing it with a huge source of income, the two fishermen said.
Boko Haram, which lacks such sources of income, is desperately looking for cash and decided to abduct the herders to squeeze money from them, anti-jihadist militia in the region said. “The kidnap was purely for money, and as long as the herders raise the money Boko Haram demanded, the hostages will be released,” said the militia leader.
But he warned that payment would not bring an end to the kidnappings. “The Fulani herders in the Doron Baga area have started leaving for fear of more kidnappings,” said the militia leader.
The jihadist conflict, which started in 2019, has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced about two million in the northeast, according to the United Nations. Nigeria’s new president, Bola Tinubu, who was sworn in at the end of May as the head of Africa’s most populous country and the continent’s largest economy, faces a host of security challenges. Like his predecessors, he has promised to make the fight against insecurity “his top priority”.
AFP
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Nigeria is modifying how it conducts air operations against armed groups under a revised security arrangement with the United States. The new framework places greater emphasis on U.S. intelligence and reconnaissance support while shifting operational responsibility to Nigerian forces. The approach reflects Abuja’s effort to balance external assistance with domestic control amid ongoing security challenges in the country’s northwest.
Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria
The U.S. airstrikes carried out in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day have triggered confusion and skepticism across the region. Conflicting statements from Washington and Abuja, uncertainty over the identity of the targeted groups, and reports from strike locations where no militants were found have raised serious questions about the operation’s objectives. In an already fragile security environment, the lack of clarity risks adding instability rather than addressing Nigeria’s complex security challenges.
Nigeria’s Conflict Goes Global With Washington Entering the Fight
U.S. airstrikes in northwestern Nigeria mark a rare moment in which a long-running domestic security crisis crossed into direct American military involvement. While Nigerian forces have relied on aerial bombardment for years against insurgents and armed groups, the decision to authorize U.S. strikes introduces new political signaling, diplomatic pressure, and strategic implications. This analysis examines why the intervention occurred now, how it differs from Nigeria’s own military operations, and what it reveals about the growing internationalization of conflict in West Africa.
