More than 40 Nigeria fishermen feared dead after Chad air strikes
nigeria’s fishing communities around Lake Chad are facing a new toll after Chad’s military launched air strikes on Boko Haram militants in the basin. Abubakar Gamandi Usman, chairman of the Lake Chad Basin Fisheries Association of Nigeria, said several members were missing and estimated that more than 40 fishermen had died.
Usman said no bodies had been recovered when he spoke, and he believed some fishermen were hit by the strikes while others drowned after trying to escape in overloaded boats. The deaths would add to the pressure on a cross-border economy already shaped by Boko Haram’s control over fishing grounds, canoes, and transport to market.
Chad air strikes on Boko Haram
Chad’s presidency said on Sunday that it had carried out retaliatory intensive air strikes on Boko Haram strongholds after what it called unjustified attacks by Boko Haram. The attacks cited by Chad took place last Monday and Wednesday on Chadian military bases near Lake Chad and reportedly killed at least 24 soldiers and two generals.
Usman said Boko Haram and fishermen both tried to flee after Chad’s air force began circling overhead on Friday. He said, “After Boko Haram attacked Chadian forces, they retreated to islands they operate from. Fishermen also inhabit these islands.”
Lake Chad basin fishing routes
The Lake Chad basin is shared by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, and it has long been a stronghold for Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province. Usman said the search for missing fishermen was slow because some parts of Lake Chad are very deep, while the local community has limited access to canoes because many are controlled by Boko Haram.
Usman also said, “Boko Haram controls access to the fishing grounds, transporting fishermen to and from the fish market to the fishing site. Boko Haram collects taxes from these fishermen.” That control leaves fishermen moving through an area where armed groups decide who can travel, work, and sell the catch.
Previous strike in October 2024
The risk for Nigerian fishermen has already surfaced before. In October 2024, the air force was said to have killed dozens of Nigerian fishermen during air strikes targeting Boko Haram fighters on Tilma Island in Lake Chad, a precedent that now hangs over the latest report from the basin.
For families waiting on the shore, the immediate issue is whether the missing can still be found and identified before the search narrows further in the deep water around the islands. Chad has already set out its military response; the open question is how many of the missing fishermen can be recovered from the areas where Boko Haram and fishing communities overlap.
