Islamic State claims first attacks in North-west Nigeria

The Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) has claimed what appears to be its first reported attacks in North-west Nigeria, in which 18 soldiers and a police officer were killed in Kebbi and Sokoto states.

The claims were published in Al-Naba, an Islamic States’ weekly propaganda magazine published on Thursday.

The claims came about six months after United States President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes against those he described as Islamic State elements in the North-west, following his claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria.

However, analysts and security observers remain divided over the footprint of Islamic State in the North-west region.
The claims

According to Al-Naba, ISSP fighters ambushed a patrol team of the Nigerian Army on 28th of Dhul Qadah (15 May) near Runji village in Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

Islamic State claimed that the attack led to a gun battle involving machine guns, during which seven soldiers were killed while others sustained injuries and fled the area.

The terror group added that its fighters burnt a military vehicle and seized eight rifles as well as three machine guns during the encounter.

In Kebbi State, the group said ISSP fighters carried out another ambush earlier in May near Giro Masa village, killing 11 soldiers and a police officer, while injuring others.

According to the Al-Naba publication, the troops were allegedly attacked while attempting to track the fighters in the area.

It also claimed that two military vehicles were destroyed and weapons carted away during the attack.

The claims by the extremist group could not be independently verified as of press time, while Nigerian military authorities are yet to officially comment on the allegations.

However, similar attacks were recorded mid-May in Illela LGA, Sokoto, and Shanga LGA, Kebbi. Both attacks were blamed on Lakurawa, a terror group that has been operating in the region for years.

The latest claims are expected to renew the debate around Lakurawa’s affiliation.

Analysts hold differing opinions regarding the group’s ideological and operational affiliation. While some believe Lakurawa is aligned with an al-Qaeda franchise operating across the Sahel, others argue that the group may instead be operating as a local affiliate of the Islamic State.

The uncertainty surrounding the group’s allegiance has continued to complicate efforts to clearly define the evolving militant landscape in Nigeria’s North-west, where armed banditry, cross-border insurgency and extremist infiltration increasingly overlap.

By Yakubu Mohammed, Premium Times

Related story: US Report Says 30,000 Armed Fulani Militants Operating Across Nigeria

US Report Says 30,000 Armed Fulani Militants Operating Across Nigeria

New report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has revealed that about 30,000 armed Fulani militants are currently operating across Nigeria, carrying out deadly attacks, kidnappings and widespread violence that have displaced over 1.3 million people, especially in the country’s Middle Belt region.

The report described the armed groups as one of the most dangerous non-state actors in Nigeria, stressing that their activities have intensified insecurity, deepened humanitarian crises and worsened religious tensions in several parts of the country.

The report stated that attacks linked to the groups have resulted in thousands of deaths, destruction of villages and mass displacement of rural populations over the years.

“An estimated 30,000 Fulani militants likely operate across the country, traditionally concentrating in the country’s northwest, then migrating down through the Middle Belt, and becoming increasingly active in the South. Each group consists of anywhere from 10 to 1,000 members.

“While these militants do not share a centralised leadership, some collaborate on attacks. Violence by Fulani militants caused the highest number of deaths among all religious communities in Nigeria over the last year as compared to attacks by organised insurgent groups and criminal gangs.

“Fulani assailants have not spared Muslims, raiding herders’ cattle and violently attacking non-Fulani Muslim communities. Furthermore, many militants have targeted Christian communities in the Middle Belt and, increasingly, the South, burning homes and churches as well as kidnapping, raping, and murdering.

“Militants often coordinate via radio and utilise motorcycles and automatic weapons, rapidly hitting several targets at once in rural, isolated areas. They often wield machetes and descend on vulnerable communities,” the report said.

The commission estimated that at least 1.3 million people had been displaced by violence associated with the groups, with Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa and parts of Niger states among the worst-hit areas.

However, the report cautioned against viewing the violence solely through a religious lens, stressing that the conflict is rooted in multiple overlapping factors.

“The violence associated with Fulani militants is driven by a complex combination of religion, ethnicity, competition over land and water resources, criminality, and environmental degradation,” USCIRF stated.

It added that worsening desertification, population growth and shrinking grazing routes have intensified clashes between nomadic herders and sedentary farming communities across northern and central Nigeria.

The commission further alleged that some militant factions have developed links with criminal gangs and extremist groups operating in the region. “Some Fulani militant groups reportedly collaborate with bandit groups and other armed actors to conduct raids, cattle rustling, kidnappings for ransom, and attacks on civilians,” the report said.

USCIRF criticised the response of Nigerian security agencies, arguing that authorities have struggled to effectively contain the violence despite repeated military deployments and security operations.

“Government authorities have often failed to prevent attacks, respond rapidly to incidents, or hold perpetrators accountable,” the report stated.

According to the commission, the inability to consistently prosecute perpetrators has contributed to a climate of impunity and recurring cycles of violence in affected communities.

The report also cited accusations by some local communities that security responses are sometimes delayed or inadequate, although it acknowledged that Nigerian authorities continue to face enormous operational and logistical challenges in tackling insecurity across multiple fronts.

Despite its criticisms, USCIRF highlighted several efforts undertaken by the Nigerian government to address the crisis. The report referenced increased military operations in parts of the North-central and North-west, expanded intelligence-sharing efforts and the deployment of special security task forces to troubled communities.

It also noted that the administration of President Bola Tinubu had taken steps to strengthen counterterrorism measures and intensify actions against armed groups involved in kidnappings and violent attacks.

Nevertheless, USCIRF maintained that the government’s response has not been sufficient to stem the scale of the violence. “Despite government efforts, attacks by Fulani militants continue with devastating consequences for civilians,” the report stated.

USCIRF argued that persistent violence by both state and non-state actors, including extremist and armed groups, continues to threaten religious communities and undermine stability in Africa’s most populous nation.

“There has been some evidence of increased government efforts, both before and after the October CPC (Country of Particular Concern) designation, to address Fulani-led violence through prosecutions and community-level engagement.

“In September, prosecutors filed initial terrorism charges against nine Fulani herders. All nine defendants, including the alleged organiser of the massacre, Lawal Mohammed Dono Ardo, have reported ties to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN),” it stated.

By Emmanuel Addeh, Arise News

Related story: Video - Inside the US's biggest military push in Nigeria in years

Boko Haram kill 33 fishermen, loggers in Nigeria

Boko Haram jihadists have killed 33 fishermen and loggers in two attacks in Nigeria’s restive Borno state in the country’s northeast, two sources told AFP Wednesday.

Monday’s attacks killed 27 fishermen in Mafa district and six loggers in Dikwa district, according to an anti-jihadist militia and a fishermen union official in the region.

“The fishermen were intercepted by Boko Haram fighters on motorcycles two kilometres from Mafa town,” Babakura Kolo, an anti-jihadist militia assisting the military said.

“All the 27 fishermen were shot dead,” Kolo said.

They were returning with a catch of lungfish from a dried up pond, said Abdullahi Sani, an official of a fishermen’s union in the state capital Maiduguri, 52 kilometres (32 miles) away.

Sani gave the same figure of 27.

Earlier, six loggers were shot dead by Boko Haram fighters while collecting firewood in the bush outside Malam Maja village in nearby Dikwa district, Kolo said.

They were displaced by jihadist violence and were living in makeshift camps in Dikwa town, 90 kilometres from Maiduguri, Kolo said.

Boko Haram and the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have increasing targeted loggers, farmers, fishermen, herders and metal scrap collectors in the region, accusing them of spying on them and passing on information to the military.

Two weeks ago, Boko Haram fighters shot dead 18 loggers who had gone into the bush outside Abaram village in Borno state’s Bama district, according to anti-jihadist militia and residents.

Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced in the 17-year-old insurgency.

Most of the displaced live in makeshift camps, relying on food handouts from international charities.

But with the drying up of aid due to funding cuts, the displaced are left to fend for themselves.

AFP

Related story: Nigerian army says joint US strikes kill 175 ISIL fighters in country’s northeast

Video - Gunmen abduct students in Nigeria’s Oyo State

Fear has gripped Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo State after gunmen killed a school official and abducted students and a vice principal in coordinated attacks on three schools in Oriire. Authorities have ordered temporary school closures as the number of abducted students remains unclear.

CGTN Africa

Related story: Gunmen abduct 39 students, 7 teachers in attacks on Nigeria schools

Gunmen abduct 39 students, 7 teachers in attacks on Nigeria schools

Armed men abducted 39 students and seven ⁠teachers in an attack targeting several schools in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo State last week, officials and a Christian association have said.

The attack took place on Friday in ⁠Ahoro Esinele community in Oriire district, targeting a secondary school and two primary schools, officials said on Monday.

Elisha Olukayode Ogundiya, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Oyo State, said 46 people, mostly children aged between two and 16 years, were taken away following the attacks.

In what police called a “coordinated attack”, armed men simultaneously raided Baptist Nursery and Primary in Yawota, and two other schools in Esiele, seizing pupils and teachers.

President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack as “barbaric”, while promising that the federal government was working with the Oyo State to “rescue all the victims”.

“We expect a breakthrough soon,” he said in a statement released by his office.

Governor Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde said one abducted teacher was killed on Sunday, ‌citing a video. Six suspects have been arrested, including alleged informants and logistics suppliers to the kidnappers, he added.

A joint rescue operation by soldiers, police and local vigilantes was disrupted after they encountered improvised explosive devices planted by the attackers, ⁠leaving several wounded, Makinde added. Those injured ⁠are receiving treatment, he said.

Mass ⁠kidnappings by armed groups have become a serious security challenge in Nigeria in recent years, with criminal gangs exploiting weak security to target travellers, students, and rural communities for cash payments. Schools are often targeted, although such ‌attacks ‌are rare in the southwest of the country.

Al Jazeera

Related stories: Latest militant attacks on schools in Nigeria leave more than 80 children missing, officials say

How ISWAP and Boko Haram are reshaping the Lake Chad Basin

The killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIL (ISIS), by United States and Nigerian forces marks a notable achievement for “counterterrorism”. Yet for analysts observing the Lake Chad Basin, it highlights how persistent and complex insecurity in the region has become.

Al-Minuki, a Nigerian national from Borno State, was operating out of a compound near Lake Chad, at the centre of one of the world’s most active armed group theatres.

His choice of northeastern Nigeria as a base underscores the conditions driving a renewed surge of violence by both the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP) and its rival, Jama’at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da’wa wa al-Jihad (JAS), more widely known as Boko Haram.

Perhaps equally significant is the parallel resurgence of Boko Haram, which quietly rebuilt itself while security agencies primarily focused on the more dominant ISWAP.

“While regional forces focused on countering ISWAP’s threats, partly due to the group’s advanced drone capabilities, Boko Haram appears to have taken advantage of the relative attention on its rival to regroup,” Nimi Princewill, a security expert in the Sahel, told Al Jazeera. “This, in turn, seems to have enabled both factions to rebuild strength and carry out further attacks in the area.”

Borders, weak governance, and violence spike

Beyond the immediate tactical manoeuvre of Boko Haram and ISWAP, the resurgence of violence in the Lake Chad Basin also underscores the broader regional challenges of coordination and intelligence-sharing among affected states.

“Although Mali and Nigeria do not share a common border, the large expanse of the Sahel that straddles them has several porous borders that allow the movement of jihadi elements and their weapons. The situation in Mali has made the Sahel a more permissive environment for armed groups, amplifying risks for Nigeria through spillover dynamics,” Kabir Amadu, managing director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited in Nigeria, told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, efforts by Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger to harmonise military operations are frequently hampered by logistical bottlenecks, differing command structures, and uneven resource allocation, allowing armed groups to exploit gaps along porous borders.

Local communities, on the other hand, face the dual pressures of insecurity and humanitarian deprivation, often relying on informal networks for protection and sustenance, which can inadvertently provide concealment or mobility corridors for armed rebels. Humanitarian agencies report that civilians are increasingly caught in cycles of displacement and forced recruitment, while regional security forums struggle to implement preventative measures that go beyond episodic military interventions.

In some areas, fear, mistrust, and weakened traditional authority structures may make communities more vulnerable to coercion or influence by armed groups. These social pressures can create conditions that Boko Haram and ISWAP may be able to exploit.

Economic factors also seem to play a notable role in the resurgence of both groups. Control of the Lake Chad islands could provide authority over taxation routes, smuggling corridors, and resource extraction, turning the islands into potentially lucrative areas of competition that extend beyond purely ideological motives.

Violence mechanics

This combination of armed activity and criminal enterprise also appears to support how the groups sustain themselves. Boko Haram’s mix of ideological and criminal operations, including robbery and kidnapping, may help fund its activities while attracting disaffected youth. Recruitment seems influenced by the region’s fragile socioeconomic conditions, including high poverty and unemployment, rather than ideology alone.

The shortcomings of reintegration programmes are also considered to contribute to the problem, with former combatants rejoining Boko Haram after facing limited life prospects. ISS research found that former ISWAP members, who would face execution for deserting their group, were joining Boko Haram’s Ghazwah wing in Borno, notorious for robbery and ransom operations.

In addition to financial and operational factors, the groups exploit gaps in local governance and security presence to consolidate influence. Remote communities often experience inconsistent law enforcement, limited state services, and weak administrative oversight, creating spaces where armed groups can operate with relative impunity.

“ISWAP and Boko Haram have become active again in the Lake Chad Basin for three main reasons: their resilience and ability to adapt to the evolving tactics of the Nigerian armed forces; the lucrative economy of violence that sustains their funding and manpower; and the Nigerian state’s limited ability to establish a legitimate, lasting presence in the region that could undermine their credibility,” Chris Ogunmodede, a Nigerian political analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Beyond military reach

Many of the factors driving armed attacks in the Lake Chad Basin are unlikely to be solved by military operations alone. The conditions that give ISWAP and Boko Haram their recruitment base, logistical support, and social legitimacy in some communities can be traced to decades of poverty, displacement, governance gaps, and political exclusion.

Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) shows the region hosts 2.9 million internally displaced people, including 2.3 million in Nigeria. Violence has forced the closure of 1,827 schools across the Lake Chad Basin, while humanitarian actors received just 19 percent of the funding required for 2025.

“ISWAP and Boko Haram’s recent resurgence reflects not simply a military setback, but a deepening governance vacuum across the Lake Chad Basin,” Abiola Sadiq, a security consultant, told Al Jazeera.

The Lake Chad Basin continues to face overlapping crises: millions remain displaced, schools are closed, and humanitarian aid is insufficient. Armed groups exploit geographic and administrative gaps to expand operations, while regional security cooperation struggles to keep pace with their adaptability.

“While the reported killing of ISIL leader Abu-Bilal al-Minuki may temporarily disrupt command structures, it is also likely to trigger retaliatory violence as rival jihadist factions compete for relevance, legitimacy, and territorial influence,” said Sadiq.

In the weeks following the strike, intelligence reports recorded a surge in small-scale attacks and cross-border raids, indicating that operational fragmentation has not diminished the groups’ capacity to coordinate assaults. Civilians continue to face restricted movement and elevated risks of recruitment, extortion, and displacement.

“With Nigeria’s 2027 general elections approaching, these groups are highly likely to intensify their operations, potentially extending attacks beyond their traditional strongholds in the Lake Chad Basin and northeastern Nigeria,” said Sadiq.

By Mubarak Aliyu, Al Jazeera

Latest militant attacks on schools in Nigeria leave more than 80 children missing, officials say

A wave of militant attacks on schools in Nigeria over the last week has resulted in more than 80 children gone missing, local officials and a rights group said Sunday, the latest in school abductions in the West African country where the government is battling an array of jihadi and other armed groups.

The attackers targeted a primary school in the war-torn state of Borno, in Nigeria’s northeastern corner, sometime between Wednesday and Thursday. The militants abducted 42 children there, in the Askira Uba and Chibok areas.

Amnesty International said that attack took place in the village of Mussa near Sambisa Forest, a stronghold of militants from Boko Haram and its splinter group, an Islamic State affiliate known as the Islamic State West Africa Province.

Across the country, two secondary schools in the southwestern Oyo state were attacked hours apart Friday, and at least 40 children were abducted there, according to Amnesty’s Nigeria branch. Such abductions are rare in that area.

The rights group warned Sunday that the threat of abduction is forcing many children out of school, while underage girls are being pulled out of classrooms and forced into marriage by families seeking to protect them from school attacks.

Peter Wabba, a government official from Mussa, said Sunday that he was told that 48 children had been abducted in Oyo.

“The government is assuring us that they are doing their ... best to see that these children are rescued, but up till now, we are still waiting,” he told the Associated Press.

Amnesty also said that the authorities “never fulfill promises to investigate the incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

“Victims and their families continue to be denied access to justice,” it said.

On Saturday, police spokesperson Ayanlade Olayinka told the AP that three gunmen were detained in connection with the Oyo attack, which took place in the Oriire area, about 135 miles from Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city.

The suspects were identified by the community and arrested, Olayinka said. Police did not say whether they were searching for more suspects.

Abductions of schoolchildren are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, especially in the country’s north. Last year, two mass abductions from schools rocked the nation, with more than 300 children taken in the northern region.

School kidnappings have come to define the lack of security in Nigeria, and analysts say it’s often because armed gangs see schools as strategic targets they can exploit to draw attention.

By Dyepkazah Shibayan, AP

Related stories: How Viral Empathy is Being Weaponized by Nigerian Kidnappers

Gunmen raid Nigerian orphanage and kidnap children

Kidnapped priest released after 3 months in captivity

In a statement issued on 12 May, the Catholic Diocese expressed “deep gratitude to God” for the safe return of Fr Nathaniel Asuwaye after three months in captivity.

“We are pleased to inform you that Father Nathaniel is now safe and receiving the necessary medical care,” the statement read. “His condition is stable, he is in good spirits, and he thanks you for your prayers and support.”

Fr Nathaniel, parish priest of Holy Trinity Church in Karku, Kaura County of Kaduna State, was kidnapped in the early hours of 7 February when armed attackers stormed the rectory. According to reports at the time, ten parishioners were also abducted during the assault, while at least three people were killed.

Recalling the months following the abduction, the Diocese said it had continuously urged the faithful to pray for the priest’s release.

“At the end of April, we dedicated May to God through fervent prayers during our annual Marian devotions and other prayers, especially the Holy Mass,” the statement said, adding “God, who does not abandon those who bear His name and call upon Him, has heard our prayers and granted Father Nathaniel’s safe return.”

Bishop Julius Yakubu Kundi, together with the priests and faithful of Kafanchan Diocese, also expressed gratitude to all who supported the Church during the difficult period, especially those who cared for the priest’s family and accompanied the community through prayer and solidarity.

“As we rejoice in this moment of answered prayers, let us remain steadfast in faith, united as one family, and supportive of one another,” the Diocese said, while encouraging the faithful to remain vigilant and compassionate toward one another.

Concern for widespread insecurity

According to Fides News Agency, no information has yet been released regarding the fate of the ten parishioners kidnapped alongside Fr Nathaniel.

The release of the priest comes amid continuing concern over the abduction of clergy and insecurity in several parts of Nigeria. Fides reported that at least two Catholic priests remain in captivity: Fr Joseph Igweagu of the Diocese of Aguleri in Anambra State, kidnapped on 12 October 2022, and Fr Emmanuel Ezema of the Diocese of Zaria in Kaduna State, abducted on 2 December 2025.

The Catholic Church in Nigeria has repeatedly appealed for stronger security measures and renewed efforts to protect human life and restore peace in communities affected by violence and criminal attacks.

Vatican News

Related story: How Viral Empathy is Being Weaponized by Nigerian Kidnappers

UN urges independent probes into deadly Nigeria, Chad air attacks

The United Nations human rights chief has demanded independent investigations into reports that separate air attacks by the Nigerian and Chadian forces in northern Nigeria killed more than 100 civilians.

“I am shocked by reports that Nigerian army airstrikes on a market in Zamfara state killed at least 100 civilians on 10 May and injured many more,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said he was also “alarmed and saddened” by the reports of high civilian casualties in attacks since Friday by Chadian jets against Boko Haram camps on remote islands in the vast marshland shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Nigeria’s military ‌has been battling “bandits” in the northwest, often describing them as “terrorists”. It has also been battling ‌an ‌armed rebellion in the northeast for 17 years.

The Nigerian military and the “bandit” gangs killed at least 100 civilians on Sunday in one of the bloodiest days in the state’s conflict against armed groups, according to Amnesty International.

Citing witnesses, Amnesty said many of those killed were women and children, and urged authorities to immediately investigate the attack on a crowded market in Tumfa village.

The bombardment has reportedly killed dozens of Nigerian fishermen working on islands under Boko Haram control, where civilians are forced to pay taxes to the armed group. Footage verified by the AFP news agency showed several fishermen with severe burns being treated at a hospital in Bosso, Niger.

“It is crucial that both Nigerian and Chadian authorities conduct prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into these disturbing incidents,” Turk said, adding that both militaries must “take all feasible precautions to avoid harm to civilians”.

“Their military operations, including against Boko Haram and the so-called ‘Islamic State West Africa Province’ must be conducted in full compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” he said, referring to the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP). “Civilians and civilian objects must never be the target of attack.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian military said on Wednesday ⁠that there ⁠has been no evidence of civilian casualties in attacks in the ⁠northwest Zamfara state this month, calling reports of large death tolls unverified and misleading.

“No credible, substantiated evidence of civilian casualties has been established through any official assessment or independent ⁠verification,” defence headquarters spokesman Major-General ⁠Michael Onoja said in a statement.

Onoja claimed that the strike was conducted under international humanitarian law and targeted a “confirmed high-level gathering” based on intelligence sources in a village where “several terrorists were neutralised”.

By AFP and Reuters

Related stories: Amnesty: More than 100 civilians killed in Nigerian military airstrike

How Viral Empathy is Being Weaponized by Nigerian Kidnappers

In the digital age, a "like" or a "share" is usually a sign of support. But for families of kidnapping victims in Nigeria, a viral post can be a double-edged sword—one that saves a life while simultaneously driving up the price of freedom.

A disturbing shift is taking place in Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis. No longer content with merely assessing what a victim’s family can afford, criminal syndicates are now monitoring the internet to see what the public can raise. In this new "Digital Extortion Economy," empathy is being monetized, and visibility has become a dangerous currency.

From "Family Crisis" to "Public Campaign"

Traditionally, kidnapping for ransom was a private, terrifying negotiation between abductors and a victim's immediate relatives. However, as the frequency of abductions has surged across the country, families are increasingly turning to WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter), and informal blogs to crowdfund the massive sums demanded.

The results are often immediate, but the consequences are becoming grim.

Take the case of Abba Musa Usman, whose ordeal captured national attention after videos of his torture were circulated online by his captors. The public outrage sparked a massive fundraising effort. But as the "Digital Empathy" grew, so did the captors' greed. According to researchers at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), ransom demands often fluctuate in real-time as abductors track how much money is being mobilized by the public. In Usman’s case, after an initial payment was made, the kidnappers pivoted, demanding motorcycles and other assets as they realized the depth of the public’s pockets.

The Algos of Agony

The tragedy of a family in Abuja in 2024 serves as a stark warning. After the failure to pay an initial demand led to the killing of one of the daughters, the subsequent public outcry fueled five separate crowdfunding campaigns on X. In just 18 days, approximately ₦230 million (US$168,000) was raised.

While these funds often secure releases, they also provide "market data" for the kidnappers. They are no longer just criminals; they are acting like predatory market analysts, setting their prices based on the viral potential of a victim’s story.

A Policy of Desperation

The Nigerian government attempted to curb this trend in 2022 by criminalizing ransom payments, but the law has largely failed to stop the practice. When the state fails to provide security, citizens have little choice but to rely on one another.

This has created a chaotic information environment where:

• Kidnappers monitor social media: They track hashtags and fundraising progress to set "premium" ransom rates.

• Verification is impossible: Rumors and unverified appeals flood WhatsApp, making it difficult for genuine families to coordinate and easy for scammers to exploit the chaos.

• Ransoms are "Tiered": Similar to cases seen in Niger, abductors are beginning to set "differentiated" ransoms—charging more for professionals like doctors or those whose stories gain the most traction.

The Bottom Line

Social media has provided a lifeline for those who have nowhere else to turn, but it has also handed a powerful new tool to the kidnappers. In the battle between public solidarity and criminal opportunism, the "digital crowd" is inadvertently setting the market price for human life. As long as visibility equals money, the most heart-wrenching stories will continue to carry the highest price tags.

ISS Today

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Gunmen kidnap students heading to exams in Nigeria

Amnesty: More than 100 civilians killed in Nigerian military airstrike

Nigerian civilians caught in the crossfire once again. Amnesty International says more than 100 civilians were killed in a military airstrike in the country's northwest. The group is calling on authorities to launch an immediate investigation.

DW

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Up to 200 civilians killed in Nigeria after air force 'misfire' on market

Military strikes, gang massacres in Nigeria kill around 100 civilians

The Nigerian military killed at least 72 people, many of them civilians, in an airstrike on a crowded market in the northwestern state of Zamfara, a community leader told AFP, with some bodies "blown beyond recognition".

Amnesty International's Nigeria chapter said "at least 100 civilians" were killed in the attack on the market, reportedly controlled by criminal gangs, while a resident of a nearby village put the toll at 117.

The strike came the same day that another attack by the Nigerian air force targeting bandits killed 13 civilians, in central Niger state, the victims' families told AFP.

News of attacks from both the Nigerian military and the various armed groups it is fighting often takes days to emerge from far-flung, rural areas.

But as the smoke cleared Monday, it appeared that Sunday was particularly deadly, with bandits also killing dozens of civilians in their own attacks.

The Nigerian military denied its strikes killed civilians in both instances.

Bandit gangs, motivated by money rather than the political or religious ideals of Nigeria's jihadist groups, raid villages, conduct kidnappings for ransom, and force farmers and miners to pay "taxes" in rural areas with minimal state presence.

They are decentralised armed groups that have at times battled Nigeria's more centrally organised jihadist factions -- and also worked with them against common targets.

Known locally as "bandits", they emerged in the country's northwest, growing out of conflicts between farmers and herders that spiralled into organised armed groups seeking quick money in the impoverished countryside, sometimes numbering hundreds of men.

Armed gangs killed 30 travellers in an attack Sunday in Zamfara state, in a massacre unrelated to the air strike, according to a security report prepared for the UN and seen by AFP.

The same day, bandits launched "coordinated attacks" in Katsina state that killed 12, according to another UN security report.

Death toll disputed

The Nigerian military has killed hundreds of civilians in its air campaigns against both bandits and jihadists.

Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the strike in Tumfa village, in Zamfara state, which it said killed "at least 100 civilians".

Garba Ibrahim Mashema, a community leader in the area, put the number of dead lower, at 72, but said: "The actual death toll is hard to establish at the moment."

"Everybody, residents and bandits, goes to the market," he told AFP. "People are at the mercy of the bandits. There is nothing they can do."

"Many young girls selling millet porridge and tofu in the market were killed," said Aliyu Musa, a resident of Zurmi town, seven kilometres from Tumfa, who put the toll at 117.

"To be frank, Tumfa market is under the control of bandits. It is their stronghold, any person who goes there knows he is on their turf."

In a statement, the military said that it targeted "terrorist leaders and commanders from across the west African sub-region".

Queried by AFP, Defense Headquarters spokesman Major General Michael Onoja said the reports of civilian deaths in Zamfara were "not true".

Regarding the airstrike that local residents said killed 13 civilians in Niger state, the military also denied reports of innocent deaths, while also saying it would investigate.

Those strikes took place in Shiroro local government area, home to known hideouts for a Boko Haram jihadist faction, as well as non-ideological bandits.

"It was not intentional. I commiserate with the family of the victims," Shiroro local government council chairman Isyaku Bawa told AFP.

Local resident John Ezra, of Kusasu village, said the villagers were "not close to the hideout of the terrorists, but our homes were bombed."

In April, the Nigerian military bombed a crowded market in Jilli, on the border of northeastern Yobe and Borno states, killing at least 56 people, many of them civilians, in a strike it said was directed at jihadists.

The military said it would investigate.

No updates have been publicly released.

AFP

Related stories:  Up to 200 civilians killed in Nigeria after air force 'misfire' on market

Nigeria, US launch defence working groups as insecurity worsens despite troops, drone support

Gunmen kill at least 29 in northeast Nigeria after targeting young people at football pitch

Nigeria, US launch defence working groups as insecurity worsens despite troops, drone support

Nigeria and the United States have inaugurated Defence Institutional Technical Working Groups (DITWGs) under the 2026 Defence Cooperation Roadmap, in a renewed effort to deepen military collaboration amid escalating insecurity across the country.

This was disclosed in a statement issued late Tuesday by Samaila Uba, the spokesperson for Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters (DHQ).

The initiative comes against the backdrop of expanded US military support, including the deployment of about 200 troops and MQ-9 surveillance drones reportedly operating from Bauchi State. The deployment, which began in February following diplomatic tensions tied to Christian genocide allegations by US President Donald Trump and the subsequent airstrikes in North-west Nigeria, was designed to provide intelligence gathering and training support to Nigerian forces rather than direct combat operations, Mr Uba had said.

US and Nigerian officials said the drones, capable of long-endurance surveillance, are being used strictly for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, with American personnel operating in advisory roles and not embedded on the frontlines. This was after many Nigerians raised concerns about the involvement of foreign military forces in internal security operations.

Despite these interventions, security conditions have continued to deteriorate. Insurgent groups, particularly Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have intensified attacks on military formations and civilian communities across northern Nigeria. Recent incidents, including deadly assaults and suicide bombings in the North-east, show the persistence and adaptability of extremist groups, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current strategies.

The DITWGs

At the inauguration ceremony, the head of the US delegation, Cate Dave, said the working groups would focus on strengthening institutional capacity and improving strategic planning to deny terrorists safe havens. He stressed that long-term counterterrorism success depends on building resilient defence systems, not just battlefield gains.

Nigeria’s delegation leader, Francis Edosa, an air vice marshal, said the partnership would enhance the warfighting capabilities of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and improve responsiveness to evolving threats across the country and the wider region.

“Both sides stressed the need for practical outcomes, accountability and sustained collaboration to enhance security and regional stability,” Mr Uba, the DHQ spokesperson stated.

By Yakubu Mohammed, Premium Times

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Gunmen kill at least 29 in northeast Nigeria after targeting young people at football pitch

Gunmen have killed at least 29 people in northeastern Nigeria, a state governor said Monday, with locals saying the attackers targeted young people gathered at a football pitch, the latest bout of deadly unrest in Africa's most populous nation.

The attack on Sunday occurred in Adamawa state, which borders Cameroon and is a hotspot for violence by jihadists and local criminal gangs. Communal violence over land is also rife in the state.

The latest attack comes as Nigeria's security crisis is increasingly under scrutiny – both abroad and at home as general elections are less than a year away.

Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri visited the scene of the Sunday attack and "confirmed that no fewer than 29 people were killed in a deadly attack on Guyaku community in Gombi Local Government Area", his spokesman said in a post on social media.

Locals also gave a similar toll.

Resident Philip Agabus told AFP that the attack occurred when "our people converged at a football pitch in Guyaku community ... [and] were attacked by insurgents who entered with guns and began shooting randomly".

The dead were "youths, including some ladies that were watching football", another local, Joshua Usman, said.

"They also burnt places of worship, houses and motorcycles," added Usman.

The state governor's office wrote that "the attackers operated for several hours, killing dozens of residents, burning places of worship, and destroying property including motorcycles", citing a local community leader, Aggrey Ali.

Local television showed footage of a burned church and several charred motor cycles.

The governor blamed the Boko Haram militants who are active in the northeast of Nigeria.

But a rival group, the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it "killed at least 25 ... Christians", and "torched a church and nearly 100 motorcycles", in a statement reported by the SITE monitoring group.

Fintiri condemned the attack, saying "it will not go unpunished" while he vowed "intensifying security operations immediately to restore peace".

Since 2009, the jihadist insurgency in Nigeria, led primarily by Boko Haram and its rival faction, the ISWAP, has left tens of thousands of people dead and millions displaced in the country's northeast, according to the United Nations.

The jihadist conflict has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Nigeria is now looking to the United States for technical and training support for its troops fighting the jihadists after a resurgence of violence strained relationships between the two countries.

US President Donald Trump said last October that Christianity was facing an "existential threat" in the West African nation. Security experts say that both Muslim and Christian communities are targeted by armed groups.

A separate attack occurred Sunday in a another district more 100 kilometres away which a local community blamed on communal clashes over farmland disputes in several villages in Lamurde area.

"Lives were lost, properties were also lost," Bulus Daniel, local government council chairman for Lamurde area told AFP.

AFP

Gunmen raid Nigerian orphanage and kidnap children

Eight children are still missing after gunmen raided an unregistered orphanage in Nigeria's north-central Kogi State and kidnapped 23, authorities have said.

Kogi's information commissioner Kingsley Fanwo said 15 children were rescued due to the "prompt and coordinated response" of security agencies.

Sunday's attack also saw the owner of the facility taken, he added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but security sources say the state has a functional Boko Haram cell, and that there have been several violent attacks in the area.

Nigeria is also grappling with a kidnap crisis in many parts of the country, with criminal gangs abducting people for ransoms. The government has made paying ransoms illegal but this has not prevented the kidnappings.

"The government remains fully committed to ensuring the rescue of all the victims," Fanwo said.

His statement on Monday also highlighted that the orphanage was "operating illegally" in a "bushy environment" without the knowledge of relevant authorities.

Fanwo urged operators of orphanages, schools, and similar institutions to always engage appropriately with the appropriate government agencies "especially in the current security climate".

Mass kidnappings in schools are not uncommon in Nigeria, especially in the country's northern region which is currently plagued by insecurity. This is the first time an orphanage has been targeted.

In November 2025, more than 300 students and their teachers were abducted from one Catholic Secondary School in Niger State, also in the north central region of Nigeria.

They were released in two batches with the last group regaining freedom more than one month after.

The government denied reports that any ransom had been paid, or that two Boko Haram commanders had been freed as part of the deal.

By Chukwunaeme Obiejesi, BBC

Despite US troops and killer drones, Islamic State terrorizing Nigeria

Earlier this month, the United States, citing heightened risk of terror attacks, pulled all non-essential staff and their families from its embassy in Nigeria’s political capital, Abuja.

Nigeria responded in a typical fashion, issuing a statement acknowledging that American concerns are well intentioned but do “not reflect the overall security situation” in the country. Yet within days, a confidential memo emerged from Nigeria’s border security which has proven Washington’s assessment to be true.

According to the leaked memo, sleeper cells linked to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram are planning coordinated attacks targeting key facilities in the country’s capital. The list of targets reportedly includes a prison, a military detention centre and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Caught flat-footed, Nigeria has neither confirmed nor denied the alert, but there are now noticeable security deployments and heavy fortifications at the respective target areas.

The significance of a possible terrorist attack on Abuja cannot be overstated. Apart from being the seat of government, Abuja is home to several diplomatic missions and corporate headquarters. As a result, it has a significant population of foreigners and members of the diplomatic community.

In 2011, Boko Haram detonated a car bomb at the office of the United Nations in Abuja, killing at least 18 people. Another suicide bombing at the headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force in June of the same year killed at least six people. Similar attacks continued in succeeding years, causing sustained anxiety within the diplomatic community even as foreign missions intensified security measures to protect staff and buildings. Indeed, the U.S. ordered a similar evacuation in October 2022 due to heightened risk of terror attacks on the capital.

Since 2009, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has been battling a complex and overlapping security crisis characterized by widespread kidnappings, banditry, and terrorist attacks across the country’s north. The crisis caught the attention of President Donald Trump last year, prompting him to redesignate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for tolerating the slaughter of Christians — an accusation Nigeria fervently rejected.

Trump also threatened military action if Nigeria’s government failed to act to protect Christians. On Christmas Day last year, he followed up on the threat by authorizing an airstrike against ISIS-affiliated targets in North Western Sokoto state.

The diplomatic row that ensued prompted Nigeria to launch a desperate public relations effort and hire Washington-based DCI Group for $9 million to manage its image on Capitol Hill. Also hired was Valcour Global Public Strategy, a Washington-based lobbying firm, for the “purpose of strengthening the bilateral relationship” between Nigeria and the U.S.

Tensions cooled in January when Washington began to tone down its harsh criticism, preferring instead to work jointly with Nigeria’s government to tackle the crisis. In February, Washington deployed 200 troops alongside multiple MQ-9 reaper drones to assist the country with training and intelligence gathering.

But neither the increased U.S. support nor the extensive PR on Capitol hill has stopped the killings — be it of Christians or Muslims. In early February, gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram or the ISIS-affiliated Lakurawa group attacked Woro and Nuku, two Muslim-majority villages in Kwara state, killing between 170 and 200 people.

Survivors reported that the community was targeted because residents refused to join the jihadists or accept their extremist interpretation of Islam. Attackers reportedly bound victims' hands and executed them, while others were trapped and burned alive inside shops. Likewise on Palm Sunday, March 29, at least 20 people were killed during an attack by the Fulani militia on Angwan Rukuba, a Christian community in Nigeria’s North Central state of Plateau.

Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, promised grieving Nigerians in Jos, Plateau state, that “this experience will not repeat itself,” but in the meantime more than five other states notably Nasarawa, Zamfara, Borno, Benue and Kaduna have recorded fresh massacres of Christians, signaling a breakdown of public order.

At the same time, large-scale abductions are gradually becoming normalized across the country, with Amnesty International estimating over 1,100 people kidnapped between January and April this year. According to UNHCR, over 3.7 million Nigerians are internally displaced as of early 2026 because of the expanding violence.

The resurgence of jihadist operations in Nigeria fits into a regional pattern where groups such as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) have carried out mass fatality attacks and laid siege on cities and towns across the Sahel, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Indeed, the planned Jihadist attack in Abuja mimics a dramatic operation by the Islamic State Sahel Province earlier in January in neighboring Niger Republic. During that incident on January 30, militants armed with explosives launched a major attack on Diori Hamani International Airport and the adjacent Base 101 in Niamey injuring four soldiers while several passenger planes and military hangars were destroyed.

A similar attack on the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, the only airport in Nigeria’s capital catering for between 3 and 5 million passengers annually, could be catastrophic.

But thwarting one single attack is not the same as decisively winning the war on terror. While the U.S. has poured about $1.8 billion in weapons sales into Nigeria over the last decade, the operational challenges of an overstretched army deployed across a region that is far larger than France remain unresolved. The immediate consequence is that, even when troops dislodge fighters and retake territory, they are often unable to hold it long enough to guarantee long-term success.

Meanwhile the fast-moving security crisis continues to deteriorate and expand rapidly, leaving the current counter-terrorism approach dangerously lagging behind. According to the Institute of Security Studies, the resilience of jihadist groups in Nigeria derives partly from the existence of vast ungoverned spaces that serve as ecosystems for them to regroup and re-arm.

For Nigeria to win the war on terror, military force must be combined with urgent governance reforms to expand state presence to every nook and cranny of the country through services and accountability. Only this can enhance local resilience and deny terrorists the vacuum they exploit for recruitment and control.

By Taiwo Hassan, Responsible Statecraft

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US drones deployed to Nigeria alongside troops for intelligence, training

Boko Haram violence: Abuja buries senior army officers killed in attacks

Gunmen abduct 15 passengers on Nigerian waterways

The police have confirmed the abduction of 15 passengers on the Calabar-Oron waterways.

Some gunmen, on Friday, ambushed a ferry travelling from Calabar, Cross River State, to Oron, Akwa Ibom State, and abducted the passengers, the News Agency of Nigeria quoted an unnamed naval officer as saying.

The police spokesperson in Cross River, Sunday Eitokpah, confirmed the abduction in a statement to reporters on Monday.

“The command is working in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom Command and the Navy.

“Coordinated search-and-rescue and tactical operations are currently ongoing to ensure the safe recovery of the victims and the swift apprehension of the perpetrators,” Mr Eitokpah, an assistant superintendent of police, said in the statement.

There have been frequent abductions of passengers on Calabar-Oron waterways lately, especially as Nigerians have resorted to travel by water because the Calabar-Itu Federal Highway is dilapidated.

The latest incident occurred seven months after 17 passengers were abducted in September 2025 on the same waterways.

Also, gunmen, in April 2025, abducted 20 passengers who were travelling in a boat from Oron to Calabar.

Abduction for ransom has become a prevalent crime in many Nigerian cities, with just anyone, including students and clerics, as targets.

Premium Times

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Gunmen kidnap students heading to exams in Nigeria

Gunmen have abducted secondary school students and other travellers in Nigeria’s Benue state while they were travelling to sit university entrance examinations, authorities said, in the latest attack highlighting persistent insecurity in the region.

The incident occurred along the Makurdi–Otukpo road, where armed attackers stopped vehicles and took an unspecified number of people. Local media reports suggest around 17 students may be missing, though officials have not confirmed the figure, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Benue state governor Hyacinth Alia described the attack as a “cowardly act” and said security agencies have launched search-and-rescue operations to locate the victims.

He said authorities have been instructed to make “no effort spared” in recovering those abducted.

The victims were reportedly students heading to take university entrance examinations, making the attack the latest in a pattern of kidnappings that frequently disrupt education and travel across parts of Nigeria.

Armed gangs and militant groups often target highways, rural communities and schools, exploiting gaps in security coverage.

Nigeria continues to face widespread kidnapping incidents despite repeated government pledges to curb the crisis. Attacks have affected both students and civilians, contributing to fear among travellers and families.

Authorities have not identified the perpetrators of the latest abduction.

The incident underscores the continuing security challenges in central Nigeria, where road travel remains particularly vulnerable to armed attacks.

By Aysel Mammadzada, News.AZ

Jihadists plan to attack Nigerian capital – leaked memo

Jihadists are plotting attacks on Abuja airport and a prison on the outskirts of Nigeria‘s capital, according to an internal memo prepared by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) seen by AFP on Thursday.

The memo, dated 13 April, calls for an “enhanced level of security within the Federal Capital Territory and its environs”, after the NCS received a “credible report” that Boko Haram and its rival Islamic State West Africa Province splinter group were planning a “series of coordinated attacks”.

Potential targets include the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and Kuje prison, both on the outskirts of Abuja, and the Wawa military prison in neighbouring Niger state, according to the memo.

Kuje prison was the site of a massive jailbreak orchestrated by ISWAP in 2022.

Earlier this month, the Kuje area council in Abuja had instituted a dusk-to-dawn curfew in at least four villages “following credible intelligence regarding a potential kinetic assault” on the prison, according to a separate report by the council seen by AFP.

Uptick in violence

Nigeria has been fighting a jihadist insurgency since 2009, though violence has ticked up in the last year.

Earlier in April, the US embassy in Abuja told “non-emergency” staff they could leave the country “due to the deteriorating security situation”.

Nigerian government officials insisted the capital was safe and was not under any imminent attack.

The country’s information minister dismissed the US government’s advice as a “precautionary measure based on internal protocols”.

According to the customs memo, “ISWAP operatives have already infiltrated the (Federal Capital territory) to facilitate the attacks”.

The Wawa attack is “reportedly being orchestrated” by Boko Haram’s Niger state cell, “in collaboration with elements of” the Nigerian jihadist group Ansaru and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM, which is active in the neighbouring Sahel.

The plot against the airport “reveals a concerning correlation between … recent large-scale attacks on aviation facilities in Niger”, including an attack claimed by the Islamic State Sahel Province on the airport in the capital Niamey, the memo said.

Hundreds of prisoners, including suspected IS and Boko Haram jihadists, escaped after ISWAP fighters attacked the Kuje prison in 2022.

It is located on the far outskirts of the capital, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Nigeria’s presidential villa.

Boko Haram and ISWAP have recently intensified attacks on bases in the country’s north-east as their 17-year campaign to establish a caliphate grinds on.

The conflict has killed more than 40,000 and displaced around two million, according to UN figures.

AFP

Related story: Boko Haram violence: Abuja buries senior army officers killed in attacks

Boko Haram violence: Abuja buries senior army officers killed in attacks

Nigeria’s defence minister has attended the funeral of several senior military officers killed in a surge of Boko Haram attacks in the northeast. The officers were laid to rest in Maiduguri, as armed groups intensify violence across the region. On Monday, Boko Haram fighters stormed an army base in Monguno, north of Maiduguri, killing a commander and six soldiers.

Al Jazeera

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