{"id":53752,"date":"2025-11-12T09:51:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T08:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=53752"},"modified":"2025-11-12T09:58:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T08:58:48","slug":"doron-baga-residents-pay-boko-haram-taxes-for-peace-eight-months-after-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/doron-baga-residents-pay-boko-haram-taxes-for-peace-eight-months-after-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Doron Baga Residents Pay Boko Haram \u201cTaxes\u201d for Peace Eight Months After Return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eight months after the Borno State government completed the relocation of more than\u00a07,790 Nigerians<\/a>\u00a0from the Republic of Chad to Doron Baga, their ancestral fishing community in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, residents say insecurity remains a major concern.<\/p>\n

The return was part of a wider effort to resettle thousands of displaced people across Borno State, where improved security has allowed some communities to return home. However, an estimated\u00a01.3 million displaced persons<\/a>\u00a0remained internally displaced in the state.<\/p>\n

A Fragile Peace Bought with Fear<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although insurgent attacks have reportedly reduced in recent months, the fragile calm in Doron Baga follows an unofficial arrangement between residents and insurgents, under which locals pay taxes to the insurgents in exchange for safety.<\/p>\n

One of the returnees, Hassan Sani Said that life has become \u201ca little easier\u201d but at a high cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonths back, the insurgents attacked people frequently when they went fishing,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, they have reached a consensus with residents, especially those engaged in fishing. As one who fishes, you are either given a slip or required to pay 30,000 naira every month, or you pay based on how many bowls of fish you catch.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to him, insurgents have stationed themselves at checkpoints near the fishing areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have two or three bowls of fish, they calculate it as two bowls, and for each bowl you pay 10,000 naira. That is how you are allowed to go without being attacked,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Experts note that this kind of economic control reflects a wider pattern across the Lake Chad Basin region including Kukawa Local Government Area where extremist groups impose levies and taxation on local communities to dominate trade, fishing and agriculture.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A fisherman in Doron Baga hands over a levy to insurgents stationed at a lakeside checkpoint. Illustration: Rukaiya Ahmed Alibe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Life Between Soldiers and Insurgents<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hassan also described how close the insurgents operate to Nigerian troops, claiming their locations are separated by only a few minutes\u2019 walk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we return from fishing, soldiers sometimes ask if we met Boko Haram members. Even when we say yes, nothing is done about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also spoke about the difficult situation of those still living in refugee camps in Chad.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir stay there is challenging. There is no intervention or support. Some return to Nigeria while others remain in Chad,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Doron Baga itself bears scars of past violence. In January 2015, satellite imagery and human rights investigations by Amnesty International show that more than 3,100 structures in the community were damaged or destroyed during a five-day assault by the insurgent group.<\/p>\n

Expert Reaction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reacting to the situation, Shettima Mamman, a lecturer with the Department of Criminology and Security Studies at Mohammed Goni College of Legal and Islamic Studies in Maiduguri, said the development raises serious security and governance concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cResettling people in their ancestral homes is a positive step, but ensuring their safety afterwards is even more important,\u201d he said. \u201cThe issue is not the resettlement itself but the security of those resettled.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that while governments legally impose taxes on citizens, the kind of levies collected by insurgents show that they are acting as a government of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very disturbing, and from a legal perspective, it is completely illegal,\u201d Mamman said. \u201cResidents relying on such arrangements for peace will not last long. What is needed is genuine and sustained security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calls for Stronger Security<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mamman emphasized that the government must strengthen security measures around resettled communities to prevent insurgent control and protect residents from psychological trauma.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoldiers and local security outfits should closely monitor what happens in these areas. If they are not well-equipped or properly supported, these lapses will continue,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in Doron Baga live in constant anxiety,\u201d he added. \u201cIf they go fishing and fail to meet the insurgents\u2019 demands, they fear punishment. This uncertainty can lead to serious psychological and health problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Way forward\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the Borno State government continues its efforts to return displaced persons to their ancestral homes, the experience of Doron Baga shows that resettlement alone is not enough. Without effective security, access to livelihoods, and stronger state presence, many returnees remain vulnerable to the same conditions that once drove them from their homes.<\/p>\n

Across Borno and the wider northeast, more than\u00a01.6 million people<\/a>\u00a0remain displaced, with about 83.5 percent of them within the state.<\/p>\n

Until lasting safety and governance are restored, residents like those in Doron Baga will continue to navigate life under a fragile peace bought through fear.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rukaiya Ahmed Alibe<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite being resettled by the Borno government, residents of Doron Baga in Kukawa Local Government Area continue to live under fear and informal control of insurgents who demand monthly levies from fishermen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":53756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,10,13,15,11,16,8,52,12,18,85],"tags":[57,207,211,61,70,208,167,210,204,209],"class_list":["post-53752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooperation","category-economy","category-environment","category-farming-and-livestock","category-humanitarian","category-lake-chad-basin","category-local-news","category-news-en","category-peace-and-security","category-regional-news","category-society","tag-borno-state","tag-doron-baga","tag-fishing","tag-idps","tag-insecurity","tag-kukawa","tag-lake-chad","tag-levies","tag-resettlement","tag-tax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53752"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53752"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53758,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53752\/revisions\/53758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}