Renewed ISWAP–Boko Haram Faction Clash Kills Dozens in Northeast Nigeria

By Ado Sadauki

Dozens of fighters were killed on Tuesday after renewed clashes erupted between rival extremist factions in northeastern Nigeria, highlighting persistent insecurity along the country’s remote and porous border with Niger, according to security officials and local sources.

The fighting broke out in the Lake Chad Basin area of Abadam Local Government Area in Borno State, where fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province, known as ISWAP, confronted members of the Bukura faction led by Abu Umaima, a splinter group with historical ties to Boko Haram.

Security sources said the battle began around 6 a.m. near Dogon Chiku Buhari, a border village less than a kilometer from the Nigeria–Niger frontier, and continued for several hours. The Bukura faction is believed to operate mainly from settlements on the Nigerian side of the border, while ISWAP maintains positions inside Nigerian territory.

“The confrontation lasted several hours and resulted in heavy casualties on both sides,” one security source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The fighting reportedly spread east of Tubum Mota village and toward the Bosso–Diffa axis in southeastern Niger.

Tubum Mota, east of the town of Malam Fatori, has long been a flashpoint for militant activity, with extremist groups frequently clashing over territory, recruitment and access to smuggling routes across the Lake Chad Basin, analysts and local residents say.

The renewed violence reflects deepening fractures within the region’s jihadist landscape, as ISWAP seeks to consolidate control by weakening rival factions, while groups such as Bukura rely on cross-border mobility to survive. Nigerian authorities have yet to issue an official statement, and details of possible civilian casualties remain unclear.