SUMMARY

The Banibangou Vigilance Committee was a group of local vigilantes formed by the mayor of Banibangou, Oumarou Bobo, in 2021. It was set up following several attacks by jihadist groups on farms in the local area. The Vigilance Committee's aim was to counter these attacks and prevent armed groups in the area from rustling livestock. It was comprised of youths from several villages in the area and relied on rudimentary arms, such as slingshots and bows and arrows.

The group proved short-lived as nearly all members were killed in the first operation the group undertook. On 2 November, the group was ambushed around Banibangou town in Tillaberi region by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), a subordinate faction of the Islamic State West Africa Province. 69 members of the Vigilance Committee were killed, including the leader Oumarou Bobo, while 15 survived.