The Silent Cities: How Boko Haram Is Quietly Shifting Its Strategy in 2025

By [Musa D] | April 13, 2025 | DOBBlog.com

For over a decade, Boko Haram has haunted the northeastern region of Nigeria with bombings, abductions, and chaos. But in 2025, something strange is happening: the silence is louder than ever and far more dangerous.

According to sources in Borno and Yobe states, Boko Haram’s strategy has changed dramatically. Instead of loud attacks and mass abductions, the group is now embedding quietly into communities, pretending to surrender, and using local influence to control youth recruitment like a virus gone dormant, waiting to resurface.

Inside the New Strategy: “The Pretender Phase”

An anonymous civilian JTF (Joint Task Force) member told DOBBlog:

Some of them are walking free. Not in the bush. In town. They don’t shoot anymore — they offer protection, give food to orphans, and gain trust. Then they plant seeds of loyalty.”

This softer, manipulative approach marks a major evolution for the group who realized that brutal attacks attract global military response, but manipulation escapes headlines.

Villages like Kukawa, Gwoza, and parts of southern Borno report a strange new reality: former fighters acting like saviors, winning over hearts, while quietly establishing control.

A Hidden Economy of Influence

There are whispers of crypto donations, silent sponsors, and cross-border transactions keeping Boko Haram’s new system alive a shadow economy of loyalty, fear, and forgotten promises.

According to leaked intelligence shared with DOBBlog, some high-profile “repentant” fighters are allegedly receiving state stipends while others have never truly left the ideology.

This isn’t rehabilitation. This is rebranding.

Also Read: “They Came Back, but Not with Guns” A Borno Youth Speaks Out

The Risk No One Wants to Say Out Loud

Security analysts fear this new phase could be more dangerous than the open warfare of the past. By the time anyone realizes what’s happening, Boko Haram may not need to attack anymore they may already own the minds of the next generation.

A quiet Boko Haram is not a defeated one. It is a calculating one.

Also Read: Shockwaves as Expert Claims Igbo Are Nigeria’s Backbone

What Can Be Done?

• Intelligence networks must shift focus from bush surveillance to local social structures.

• True community led reintegration efforts must replace superficial “repentance programs.”

• The public must be informed silence should not be mistaken for safety.

This story is ongoing. And sometimes, the quietest places hide the loudest threats.