Suspected Boko Haram attack kills at least 25 laborers in Borno as militants also hit army base
Source: Telegram
Executive Summary
A lethal attack on construction laborers in Sabon Gari town in Nigeria’s Borno State killed at least 25 people on January 30, 2026, according to relatives cited by Reuters, making it the deadliest reported Islamist attack since US strikes on December 25. Separate reporting describes additional deaths among Nigerian soldiers and allied local forces in related violence in Borno, underscoring a sustained operational tempo by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province networks across the insurgency’s core area.
Analysis
The reporting indicates militants are continuing to prioritize soft targets tied to reconstruction and movement in remote Borno, while also sustaining pressure on military positions. The Sabon Gari killings, combined with reports of a pre dawn assault on an army base and ongoing ambush activity, point to persistent capability to inflict mass casualties and disrupt stabilization efforts even amid increased security cooperation narratives involving the United States.
At least 25 laborers were killed when gunmen attacked Sabon Gari town while the victims were at a construction site, with relatives identifying the dead as workers who had traveled to the town for a job.
Reuters reported a separate Thursday attack in Borno killed at least nine soldiers and two members of a civilian task force during a pre dawn assault on an army base, with 16 wounded.
France 24 reported local sources describing the Sabon Gari incident as a jihadist attack blamed on Islamic State aligned militants, with at least 20 bodies, including soldiers and construction workers, taken to a nearby hospital and indications more bodies remained at the base and some soldiers were missing.
Casualty figures and group attribution vary across the initial reporting, with Reuters describing the town attack as suspected Boko Haram and France 24 citing Islamic State aligned militants based on local sources. The common thread is that attackers successfully targeted laborers supporting infrastructure work and also struck military forces in the same state, reinforcing a pattern where civilian reconstruction activity and isolated security sites are both exposed to high risk in northeast Nigeria.
