Nigeria's Boko Haram making gains again in Borno state, governor says

9/4/2025 18:41

Nigeria's Islamist group Boko Haram has renewed attacks and kidnappings in northeastern Borno state with little push back from security forces, suggesting that authorities in the region were losing ground to insurgents, the state's governor has said.



Militants from Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province have mainly operated in the northeast of Nigeria, attacking security forces and civilians and killing and displacing tens of thousands of people.



In the last few years, Nigeria's military had managed to push back against Boko Haram while internal fights with ISWAP further weakened the group.



Borno state governor Babagana Zulum said Boko Haram had recently upped attacks, dislodging some military formations in several districts and killing civilians and security forces.



"It is a setback in the fragile state of Borno and the North East region," Zulum said during a meeting with security forces in Borno state capital Maiduguri on Tuesday.



Zulum added that "the renewed Boko Haram attacks and kidnappings in many communities, almost on a daily basis without confrontation, signalled that Borno state is losing ground."