137 security incidents tallied
Reporting shows 137 violent incidents in early 2026 across 34 states plus the FCT, with active groups named as Boko Haram and ISWAP in parts of the north. (x.com)
Nigeria recorded at least 137 violent incidents in four weeks across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory, showing how widely insecurity has spread. (ghanaweb.com) The count, published on March 22 by Sunday Vanguard and reproduced by other outlets, said Borno, Benue, and Ondo were the hardest-hit states in the period under review. Only Nasarawa and Jigawa were listed with no incidents. (ghanaweb.com) The same reporting said Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP, drove many of the deadliest attacks, with civilians accounting for 67 percent of victims. Borno alone recorded 19 incidents, the highest state total in the country. (ghanaweb.com) The pattern is not limited to one conflict zone. European Union asylum guidance updated in March 2026 said Nigeria was facing overlapping crises involving Islamist insurgency in the north, farmer-herder violence in the North Central, banditry in the North-West, gang violence in the South-South and South-West, and separatist unrest in the South-East. (euaa.europa.eu) Human Rights Watch said insecurity remained prevalent through 2025, with renewed deadly attacks in Borno, persistent kidnappings and raids in the North-West, and continuing intercommunal killings and displacement in Benue and Plateau. The group also said Nigerian security forces have been implicated in abuses, including airstrikes that killed civilians. (hrw.org) In the north-east, the military has faced a fresh run of direct assaults. The International Centre for Investigative Reporting documented 12 Boko Haram and ISWAP attacks on military bases since early 2025, with 11 of them in Borno and one in Yobe. (icirnigeria.org) Those attacks continued into March 2026. The International Centre for Investigative Reporting said insurgents struck bases in Gujba in Yobe and in Kukawa, Konduga, Mainok, Jakana, and Marte in Borno between March 5 and March 9, killing soldiers and destroying vehicles in some of the raids. (icirnigeria.org) Independent conflict monitors are also tracking a rise in violence. ACLED said on April 8 that violence in Plateau had surged by 71 percent, and on April 13 it reported simultaneous Boko Haram and ISWAP attacks in Maiduguri. (acleddata.com) Nigeria’s broader terrorism trend has worsened on global measures too. The Institute for Economics and Peace said Nigeria ranked fourth on its latest Global Terrorism Index, with 171 attacks recorded in 2025, up from 120 in 2024. (economicsandpeace.org; thecable.ng) The four-week tally does not mean every incident came from the same armed group or followed the same pattern. It shows that, by early 2026, Nigeria was dealing with a nationwide security crisis that ranged from insurgent attacks in Borno to kidnappings, village raids, and highway ambushes in multiple other regions. (euaa.europa.eu; ghanaweb.com)
