Niger has announced the death of prominent Boko Haram leader Ibrahim Mahamadu, also known as Bakoura or Abu Oumaima, in a precision military operation on Shilawa Island in the Diffa region. The operation, described by the Nigerien military as a “surgical strike,” targeted the long-standing jihadist stronghold where Boko Haram factions have maintained a presence for over a decade.
Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group originating in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, has waged an insurgency across the Lake Chad Basin, affecting Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon. Mahamadu, a Nigerian national, led a splinter faction loyal to the group’s former leader Abubakar Shekau. This faction emerged after Shekau’s split with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) following a leadership and ideological rift with ISIS in 2016. Mahamadu assumed leadership of the faction after Shekau’s death in May 2021.
Bakoura was believed to have orchestrated numerous attacks, including the high-profile kidnapping of over 300 students in Kuriga, Nigeria, in March 2024. His forces exploited the remote and porous borders of the Lake Chad Basin, using the Diffa region in southeastern Niger—particularly Shilawa Island—as a staging ground for cross-border raids and attacks on civilians, military installations, and infrastructure.
Niger first came under attack by Boko Haram in 2015, with the group frequently striking areas like Bosso on the shores of Lake Chad. The recent operation marks one of the most significant victories for Niger’s military since the August 2023 coup, which brought a junta to power that severed ties with Western nations and moved closer to Russia for security assistance.
Authorities in Niamey emphasized that while Mahamadu’s death represents a major success, the fight against jihadist insurgencies in the Lake Chad Basin is far from over. Niger continues to coordinate with regional partners under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to counter the persistent threat posed by Boko Haram and ISWAP factions, whose activities have deepened the region’s humanitarian crisis and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.