Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A counter‑terrorism operation by the Chadian military has reportedly led to the deaths of dozens of Nigerian fishermen on Lake Chad, raising fresh concerns about the safety of civilians in one of Africa’s most volatile and neglected conflict zones. Local sources, including a member of a civilian anti‑jihadist militia and an official of a Lake Chad fishermen’s union, told the Agence France‑Presse (AFP) that Chadian fighter jets began bombing islands on the Nigerian side of the lake on Friday, May 8, 2026. The strikes were a direct response to a series of devastating Boko Haram attacks on Chadian military positions just days earlier, which killed at least 24 Chadian soldiers and two senior generals. The aerial campaign has continued for three days, with the bombardments intensifying on Sunday, May 10, and concentrating on Shuwa Island, a known jihadist stronghold located at the convergence of the Nigerian, Nigerien and Chadian borders of the lake.
The human toll of the air campaign has been catastrophic, mostly affecting civilians who had no connection to the armed groups. The fishermen’s union official stated that at least 40 Nigerian fishermen are missing and are believed to have drowned as a result of the bombardments. The number is based on accounts from fishermen who managed to escape the attacks. The exact casualty figure remains unclear as military operations continue across the vast, marshy network of islands and waterways. A militia member described the casualties among the fishermen as “huge,” acknowledging the heavy price paid by those who were simply trying to survive. A fisherman from Baga, a community in north‑eastern Nigeria, was quoted as saying, “Many people were killed,” a simple statement that belies the scale of the tragedy unfolding on the lake. The majority of those killed are believed to be from Doron Baga, a fishing enclave on the Nigerian shore of the lake, and from Taraba State. Despite the severity of the incident, the Chadian military had not issued an official statement at the time of the original reports on Sunday, which is a cause for concern among regional and international observers who demand transparency in military operations.
The tragedy is compounded by a stark and uncomfortable reality: the victims were often forced to cooperate with the very militant group that the Chadian jets were trying to destroy. To earn a living in the fish‑rich waters around the islands controlled by Boko Haram, Nigerian fishermen must pay a tax to the jihadists. “It is not a secret that Nigerian fishermen pay tax to Boko Haram to have access to the remote island with a huge fish reservoir,” a source told AFP. According to accounts from survivors, Boko Haram ferries the fishermen on its own boats to these islands and later transports them back with their catch, acting as de facto transport authorities and tax collectors. For the fishermen, it is a desperate choice between poverty and danger, a cruel bargain for the right to work. This arrangement, however, has effectively made them human shields, placing them directly in the line of fire when the military strikes the insurgents’ strongholds.
The cycle of violence on Lake Chad is long and bitter, and this latest incident is part of a recurring pattern. Just days before the airstrikes, Boko Haram launched a raid on a military base on the shores of the lake, killing at least 24 soldiers. In another attack, the jihadists ambushed an army patrol in the lake’s island area, killing two Chadian generals. The deadly effectiveness of these attacks prompted the Chadian military to launch the aerial bombardments. However, this tactic has a devastating recent precedent. In October 2024, the Chadian army was similarly accused of killing dozens of Nigerian fishermen during air strikes against Boko Haram on Tilma Island, also in Lake Chad. Those strikes were launched in reprisal for a jihadist attack that claimed the lives of 40 Chadian soldiers, but witnesses said the bombs killed fishermen instead. At the time, the Chadian military denied intentionally targeting civilians.
The Lake Chad Basin, a body of water shrinking due to climate change and mismanagement, has for over a decade been a strategic marshland refuge for both Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The vast, lawless region straddling Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon has defied attempts at total pacification. In 2015, the four nations reactivated a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to combat the jihadists. However, Niger, which shares a significant portion of the lake’s shoreline, left the regional force last year due to strained relations with its neighbours following a military coup, creating gaps in the security architecture. The lake has also long been a source of tension between regional powers; in 2023, the Chadian and Nigerian governments exchanged accusations over air and artillery bombardments of villages in the disputed border area.
The Nigerian government has not yet issued an official statement on the airstrikes, and the silence from Abuja is likely to be interpreted by victims’ families as indifference. The attack on Shuwa Island represents a serious escalation with immediate cross‑border implications, potentially damaging the fragile security cooperation between Nigeria and Chad. The fishermen’s union and local civil society groups are calling for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing military operations to allow for search and rescue efforts. For the families waiting on the shores of Doron Baga, the news of missing husbands, sons and fathers is not just a tragedy; it is an economic death sentence in a region where the collapse of the fishing industry has already led to widespread hunger and displacement. Dozens of families now face the grim task of waiting for bodies that may never be recovered from the waters of Lake Chad, while the aerial bombardment—the indiscriminate weapon of a regional power—continues to rain down on a lake that offers no safe harbour.
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