Anxiety in Nigerian fishing community following jihadist threats

Modu Umar, a fisherman from Baga, Nigeria, has barely slept for two weeks, caught between staying in his community or fleeing after Islamist militants threatened an imminent attack. The 33-year-old father of three, who has spent his entire life fishing in Lake Chad and trading his catch in the surrounding four countries, now faces an uncertain future alongside hundreds of other anxious residents.

Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram offshoot, have attacked Baga, killing 15 people and abducting many others, according to five local residents. Shortly after, the militants issued a 14-day eviction notice, creating widespread fear and prompting many to flee.

"We are in a difficult situation and helpless," Umar told Reuters by phone. "Ever since the notice, I have been constantly worried and in fear."

The exact number of residents who have left Baga is unclear. President Bola Tinubu, who took office last year with a pledge to end widespread insecurity, including the Boko Haram insurgency that began in 2009, now faces a renewed challenge in this region.

Baga, located in Kukawa, one of the 27 local government areas in Borno state, has seen frequent clashes between multinational forces from Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, and Niger, and jihadist groups. Despite being the headquarters of a brigade of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), the town's residents find little comfort in the presence of these forces. In January 2015, Boko Haram launched a series of raids on Baga, overrunning the MNJTF headquarters and killing dozens.

Defense spokesperson Major General Edward Buba has not responded to requests for comment.

Modu Massah Baga, another fisherman who supports his two wives and eight children, is also contemplating leaving. "How can you just leave where you have a source of livelihood and go to where you don't know? It is disheartening to us because many are afraid and worried," he said. "This is the only place we work to feed our families."

The town has also witnessed conflict between ISWAP and Jama'tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (JAS), another Boko Haram faction. According to security experts, this intra-jihadist fighting could be behind the recent eviction notice.

"ISWAP is sometimes more aggressive towards civilians in the Lake Chad communities when it is facing setbacks because it has to resort to terrorizing communities in order to deter them from working with either the military or a rival faction," said James Barnett, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute who has extensively studied the insurgency.