Boko Haram, ISWAP in fierce battle over Lake Chad Islands
The Lake Chad Basin is witnessing a fresh surge of terrorists violence as rival jihadist factions, Boko Haram’s Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) engage in a deadly turf war for dominance over key island strongholds in Borno State.
Between November 5 and 8, 2025, JAS fighters launched a coordinated offensive against ISWAP bases scattered across the islands of Sahel 1, Dogon Chuku, Mangari, and several linked riverine zones spanning Tumbun Gini, Tumbun Dalo, Tumbun Shanu, Mangari, and Dumba, all within the Abadam and Kukawa local government areas.
According to Zagazola Makama, a counterterrorism expert on the Lake Chad the assault was led by Hassan Buduma, JAS commanders and Mohd Hassan, who mobilised dozens of motorised watercraft loaded with fighters and heavy weapons.
The attackers reportedly moved in waves through the river basins, conducting simultaneous strikes from several directions.
“This was an amphibious assault, insurgent style. They attacked from the water before dawn and took ISWAP by surprise. This was not a misunderstanding; it was a full-scale takeover attempt”, an intelligence operative familiar with the terrain told Makama.
After days of intense clashes, ISWAP fighters were reportedly forced to flee their river camps, abandoning several positions.
Makama reported that surveillance aircraft from intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations later detected heat signatures of multiple bodies, some floating in the water, others buried in shallow sand pits, indicating heavy casualties on both sides.
Sources confirmed to the expert that JAS succeeded in overrunning several ISWAP strongholds, driving surviving militants into mainland hideouts around Ali Jillimari, Metele, Kangarwa, and Gudumbali in northern Borno.
“While both factions claim allegiance to extremist Islamic ideology, analysts say the current conflict is less about religion and more about power, resources, and strategic advantage.
“Control of the Lake Chad islands offers lucrative opportunities: extortion of fishermen and traders, taxation of smuggling routes, and dominance over vital arms and fuel supply corridors connecting Nigeria with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.
“The islands’ maze-like waterways also provide a natural cover from aerial surveillance, making them ideal insurgent sanctuaries”, Makama reported.
According to the report, ISWAP has maintained control of these islands since 2021, following the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.
“However, this year’s receding water levels have opened new land routes and exposed dormant fishing settlements, enabling renewed competition for territorial dominance”, it added.
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“Intercepted communications suggest that JAS has vowed to “totally eliminate ISWAP presence in the Lake Chad islands” and seize the group’s lucrative trade and smuggling routes.
“The faction is reportedly planning to push further south toward ISWAP’s strongholds in Marte and Ngala local government areas, a move that could shift the balance of power for the first time in four years”, the report said.
Makama also reported that the latest clashes mark a dangerous transition from isolated skirmishes to a full-scale territorial campaign between the two jihadist groups.
The analyst warned that the escalation could trigger more ambushes, roadside bomb attacks, and abductions along critical access routes linking Metele, Kangarwa, and the Maiduguri–Damasak Main Supply Route (MSR).
