The Defence Headquarters of Nigeria has denied reports of civilian deaths following airstrikes in Niger state, insisting the operation targeted only armed groups. Defence spokesperson Major-General Michael Onoja said the drone strikes, carried out overnight between May 9 and 10, were intelligence-led and hit suspected bandits in villages including Katerma, Bokko, Kusasu and Kuduru in the Shiroro district. Local media had earlier reported fears of civilian casualties from the strikes.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Nigeria military denies civilian deaths in Niger state airstrikes
The Defence Headquarters of Nigeria has denied reports of civilian deaths following airstrikes in Niger state, insisting the operation targeted only armed groups. Defence spokesperson Major-General Michael Onoja said the drone strikes, carried out overnight between May 9 and 10, were intelligence-led and hit suspected bandits in villages including Katerma, Bokko, Kusasu and Kuduru in the Shiroro district. Local media had earlier reported fears of civilian casualties from the strikes.
Dozens of Nigerian fishermen feared dead after Chad air strikes on Boko Haram
Dozens of Nigerian fishermen are feared dead after Chad's military launched air strikes on Boko Haram militants in the Lake Chad region, a local fishermen's leader has told the BBC.
Abubakar Gamandi Usman, chairman of Lake Chad Basin Fisheries Association of Nigeria, said several of the union's members were missing and estimated more than 40 had died.
No bodies have yet been recovered but Usman believes some fishermen were hit by the strikes, while others drowned after attempting to flee in overloaded boats.
Authorities in Chad and Nigeria have not commented, but on Sunday Chad's presidency said it had carried out retaliatory "intensive air strikes" on Boko Haram strongholds.
In a statement on Facebook, the presidency said it had responded to "unjustified attacks" by Boko Haram, which took place last Monday and Wednesday and targeted Chadian military bases near Lake Chad, reportedly killing at least 24 soldiers and two generals.
The Lake Chad basin is a huge region of waterways and swampland shared by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. It has long been a stronghold for Boko Haram and its rival faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).
"After Boko Haram attacked Chadian forces, they retreated to islands they operate from. Fishermen also inhabit these islands," Usman told the BBC.
After Chad's air force began circling overhead on Friday, panic broke out, with both Boko Haram fighters and fishermen attempting to flee.
The search for the missing fishermen has been slow, Usman said, as some parts of Lake Chad are very deep. The local community also has limited access to canoes, as many are controlled by Boko Haram, Usman added.
"Boko Haram controls access to the fishing grounds, transporting fishermen to and from the fish market to the fishing site. Boko Haram collects taxes from these fishermen," he said.
Recently, the region has seen a rise in attacks on security forces, as well as kidnappings and raids on communities.
Chadian military operations have been accused of causing civilian deaths before - in October 2024, the air force was said to have killed dozens of Nigerian fishermen during air strikes targeting Boko Haram fighters on Tilma Island in Lake Chad.
Nigeria's military has also been accused of claiming civilian lives during operations against armed groups and jihadist fighters, though authorities often describe such deaths as unintended collateral damage.
Most recently, the armed forces denied media reports that civilians were killed during a series of air strikes in the central Niger state on Sunday.
Military spokesperson Maj Gen Michael Onoja said the operations were "executed based on credible, actionable intelligence".
By Makuochi Okafor, BBC
Abubakar Gamandi Usman, chairman of Lake Chad Basin Fisheries Association of Nigeria, said several of the union's members were missing and estimated more than 40 had died.
No bodies have yet been recovered but Usman believes some fishermen were hit by the strikes, while others drowned after attempting to flee in overloaded boats.
Authorities in Chad and Nigeria have not commented, but on Sunday Chad's presidency said it had carried out retaliatory "intensive air strikes" on Boko Haram strongholds.
In a statement on Facebook, the presidency said it had responded to "unjustified attacks" by Boko Haram, which took place last Monday and Wednesday and targeted Chadian military bases near Lake Chad, reportedly killing at least 24 soldiers and two generals.
The Lake Chad basin is a huge region of waterways and swampland shared by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. It has long been a stronghold for Boko Haram and its rival faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).
"After Boko Haram attacked Chadian forces, they retreated to islands they operate from. Fishermen also inhabit these islands," Usman told the BBC.
After Chad's air force began circling overhead on Friday, panic broke out, with both Boko Haram fighters and fishermen attempting to flee.
The search for the missing fishermen has been slow, Usman said, as some parts of Lake Chad are very deep. The local community also has limited access to canoes, as many are controlled by Boko Haram, Usman added.
"Boko Haram controls access to the fishing grounds, transporting fishermen to and from the fish market to the fishing site. Boko Haram collects taxes from these fishermen," he said.
Recently, the region has seen a rise in attacks on security forces, as well as kidnappings and raids on communities.
Chadian military operations have been accused of causing civilian deaths before - in October 2024, the air force was said to have killed dozens of Nigerian fishermen during air strikes targeting Boko Haram fighters on Tilma Island in Lake Chad.
Nigeria's military has also been accused of claiming civilian lives during operations against armed groups and jihadist fighters, though authorities often describe such deaths as unintended collateral damage.
Most recently, the armed forces denied media reports that civilians were killed during a series of air strikes in the central Niger state on Sunday.
Military spokesperson Maj Gen Michael Onoja said the operations were "executed based on credible, actionable intelligence".
Nigeria's Airlines Face Trouble as Jet Fuel Threatens to Run Dry
Nigeria's aviation sector faces heightened safety and operational concerns, due to jet fuel supply shortages amid already soaring oil prices. The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) said the scarcity of jet fuel has triggered challenges like flight delays and route adjustments.
Related story: Nigeria cuts airline debts to ease jet fuel crisis
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.
Gunmen kill at least 29 in northeast Nigeria after targeting young people at football pitch
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.
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.
After Squandering $25B In Refinery Overhauls, Nigeria Turns To Chinese Firms
After a series of failed and costly attempts to revamp its aging refineries, Nigeria’s national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has signed a new agreement with Chinese firms to revive its moribund facilities. The NNPC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd for the completion, operation and maintenance of the Port Harcourt (210,000 bpd) and Warri (125,000 bpd) refineries under a Technical Equity Partnership model.
According to estimates by The Punch, Nigeria spent more than ?11 trillion (about $25 billion) between 2010 and 2023 on refinery rehabilitation projects, yet the facilities remain largely unreliable. The Port Harcourt refinery briefly restarted in late 2024 but was shut down again by May 2025 due to performance issues.
Nigeria has chosen to walk away from purely contractor-led repairs to a Technical Equity Partnership (TEP) model wherein partners share technical expertise and financial risk. TEP is a collaborative business model where a partner provides both specialized technical expertise and equity capital to a project or company, rather than just acting as a contractor or pure financier. This model is frequently used in large-scale industrial projects such as oil refinery rehabilitations or mining operations to ensure the partner has "skin in the game" regarding both the operational success and the financial performance of the venture.
However, industry analysts and energy experts in Nigeria have raised significant concerns regarding the technical expertise of the Chinese firms selected by the NNPC for rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, pointing out that neither has a known track record in large-scale refinery rehabilitation.
To wit, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited is a petrochemical firm primarily focused on ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol and surfactants rather than crude refining while Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park is focused on industrial park management, investment facilitation and infrastructure development. Both firms are private entities rather than major Chinese state-owned engineering firms with specialized refinery rehabilitation experience. Groups like the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and PENGASSAN have called for transparency or outright privatisation, arguing that decades of government-led "Turnaround Maintenance" (TAM) have failed to stop fuel scarcity.
Nevertheless, Nigeria’s energy sector is now being reshaped by new dynamics despite these setbacks.
The giant, 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Dangote Refinery has fundamentally transformed Nigeria's energy landscape, shifting the nation from a massive importer of petroleum products to a net exporter. In March 2026, Nigeria officially became a net exporter of petrol, driven by the Dangote refinery's capacity to process roughly 565,000 bpd and generate a consistent surplus. The refinery produces around 57 million litres of petrol daily, exceeding the national consumption of approximately 46 million litres. This has helped the West African country to dramatically cut fuel imports, with daily petroleum imports dropping from over 42 million litres in December 2025 to just 3 million litres by February 2026. The Dangote refinery has started exporting petroleum products, managing to ship over 456,000 tonnes (12 cargoes) by March to various African countries, including Togo, Niger, Angola, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Despite the high production capacity, the Dangote refinery has faced challenges in sourcing sufficient local crude, necessitating the import of international oil, including from the US and Brazil with local producers only supplying ~30% of its needs. International oil companies (IOCs) like NNPC often prefer exporting crude due to higher profits, passing on excessive costs to the refinery through traders. Despite the Petroleum Industry Act aimed at ensuring local supply, legal, regulatory, and production issues in the Niger Delta have hindered the mandated supply to the refinery. Meanwhile, whereas the refinery has been able to reduce foreign exchange expenditure on fuel imports, it has yet to fully insulate the country from global oil price volatility, with domestic fuel prices still seeing increases as global oil prices surge. Indeed, Nigeria’s reliance on deregulated, imported fuel has led to domestic retail prices for gasoline surging by nearly 50%.
On the other hand, Nigeria’s economy is experiencing an "oil paradox" due to high global prices triggered by the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, generating significant government revenue windfalls while simultaneously driving up domestic fuel costs and inflation. Indeed, the war in Iran has acted as a catalyst for Nigeria’s oil sector, creating a significant revenue windfall of an estimated N5.13 trillion, or nearly $4 billion, in March and April due to surging crude prices, significantly increasing Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings.
Nigeria’s signature Bonny Light crude was trading at ~$110/barrel on Monday, more than 50% above the 2025 average price. Produced in the Niger Delta basin, Bonny Light crude is a high-grade, premium Nigerian crude oil, prized for being light and sweet, with low API gravity and very low sulfur content. The crude grade is used to produce high yields of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
According to estimates by The Punch, Nigeria spent more than ?11 trillion (about $25 billion) between 2010 and 2023 on refinery rehabilitation projects, yet the facilities remain largely unreliable. The Port Harcourt refinery briefly restarted in late 2024 but was shut down again by May 2025 due to performance issues.
Nigeria has chosen to walk away from purely contractor-led repairs to a Technical Equity Partnership (TEP) model wherein partners share technical expertise and financial risk. TEP is a collaborative business model where a partner provides both specialized technical expertise and equity capital to a project or company, rather than just acting as a contractor or pure financier. This model is frequently used in large-scale industrial projects such as oil refinery rehabilitations or mining operations to ensure the partner has "skin in the game" regarding both the operational success and the financial performance of the venture.
However, industry analysts and energy experts in Nigeria have raised significant concerns regarding the technical expertise of the Chinese firms selected by the NNPC for rehabilitating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, pointing out that neither has a known track record in large-scale refinery rehabilitation.
To wit, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited is a petrochemical firm primarily focused on ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol and surfactants rather than crude refining while Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park is focused on industrial park management, investment facilitation and infrastructure development. Both firms are private entities rather than major Chinese state-owned engineering firms with specialized refinery rehabilitation experience. Groups like the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and PENGASSAN have called for transparency or outright privatisation, arguing that decades of government-led "Turnaround Maintenance" (TAM) have failed to stop fuel scarcity.
Nevertheless, Nigeria’s energy sector is now being reshaped by new dynamics despite these setbacks.
The giant, 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Dangote Refinery has fundamentally transformed Nigeria's energy landscape, shifting the nation from a massive importer of petroleum products to a net exporter. In March 2026, Nigeria officially became a net exporter of petrol, driven by the Dangote refinery's capacity to process roughly 565,000 bpd and generate a consistent surplus. The refinery produces around 57 million litres of petrol daily, exceeding the national consumption of approximately 46 million litres. This has helped the West African country to dramatically cut fuel imports, with daily petroleum imports dropping from over 42 million litres in December 2025 to just 3 million litres by February 2026. The Dangote refinery has started exporting petroleum products, managing to ship over 456,000 tonnes (12 cargoes) by March to various African countries, including Togo, Niger, Angola, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Despite the high production capacity, the Dangote refinery has faced challenges in sourcing sufficient local crude, necessitating the import of international oil, including from the US and Brazil with local producers only supplying ~30% of its needs. International oil companies (IOCs) like NNPC often prefer exporting crude due to higher profits, passing on excessive costs to the refinery through traders. Despite the Petroleum Industry Act aimed at ensuring local supply, legal, regulatory, and production issues in the Niger Delta have hindered the mandated supply to the refinery. Meanwhile, whereas the refinery has been able to reduce foreign exchange expenditure on fuel imports, it has yet to fully insulate the country from global oil price volatility, with domestic fuel prices still seeing increases as global oil prices surge. Indeed, Nigeria’s reliance on deregulated, imported fuel has led to domestic retail prices for gasoline surging by nearly 50%.
On the other hand, Nigeria’s economy is experiencing an "oil paradox" due to high global prices triggered by the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, generating significant government revenue windfalls while simultaneously driving up domestic fuel costs and inflation. Indeed, the war in Iran has acted as a catalyst for Nigeria’s oil sector, creating a significant revenue windfall of an estimated N5.13 trillion, or nearly $4 billion, in March and April due to surging crude prices, significantly increasing Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings.
Nigeria’s signature Bonny Light crude was trading at ~$110/barrel on Monday, more than 50% above the 2025 average price. Produced in the Niger Delta basin, Bonny Light crude is a high-grade, premium Nigerian crude oil, prized for being light and sweet, with low API gravity and very low sulfur content. The crude grade is used to produce high yields of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
By Alex Kimani, oilprice.com
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