Deadly Borno attack raises fears of Boko Haram’s suicide tactics resurgence

On the night of June 21, a woman detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in a crowd of people at a fish market in Konduga town, about 25 km southeast of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

The attack, which reportedly killed at least 12 people, is the first in the region in 2025 after a series of suicide bombings in 2024, according to Human Rights Watch.

The deadly suicide bombing has revived concerns about a resurgence of the brutal tactics that marked Boko Haram’s most violent years.

The Konduga blast occurred at night when traders and buyers thronged the market. It has fuelled fears that the jihadist group or one of its factions could be returning to tactics that terrorized communities in Nigeria’s northeast for over a decade.

“While no group has claimed responsibility, the latest suicide bombing and others since 2024 raise concerns for the safety of people in the region, particularly amid reports of a resurgence of the JAS faction, which has often carried out brutal attacks targeting civilians,” Human Rights Watch said.

“Insurgent groups should end all targeted and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, and Nigerian authorities should take decisive action to hold those responsible to account.”

Rising fears

Since Nigeria’s first recorded suicide bombing in 2011, Boko Haram has carried out hundreds of such attacks, often targeting places of worship, markets, and refugee camps.

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change recorded over 127 suicide bombings and attempted suicide bombings in 2017 alone. In many cases, women and girls were forced or manipulated into becoming bombers.

In recent years, suicide bombings had sharply declined. Analysts attributed this to military offensives and the split of Boko Haram into rival factions — notably the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which focused on military and government targets, and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS), the original Boko Haram faction. The death of JAS leader Abubakar Shekau in 2021 during clashes with ISWAP was seen as a major blow to the faction’s capacity.

But incidents like the Konduga attack and other bombings since 2024 suggest JAS or its remnants may be regaining strength. President Bola Tinubu called the bombing an “attempt to spread fear” and ordered security forces to “rout the remnants of Boko Haram.”

Yet, many Nigerians question how much has changed. Despite repeated declarations of victory against Boko Haram, insecurity has worsened under Tinubu’s administration.

A May 2025 Amnesty International report recorded over 10,200 deaths from armed violence in seven Nigerian states since May 2023. Benue, Plateau, and other states have suffered relentless attacks by gunmen, with more than 7,000 killed in Benue alone, fuelling food insecurity and deepening poverty.

The re-emergence of suicide bombings risks compounding the crisis. Borno, a key farming region, has already seen tens of thousands displaced. Many civilians fear a return to the dark years when markets, schools, and mosques became frequent bombing targets.

The government faces mounting pressure to retool its counterinsurgency strategy and address the deep-rooted drivers of insecurity — from poverty and unemployment to political violence and weak governance.