Boko Haram — militant organization responsible for school kidnappings, insurgency, and armed attacks across Nigeria, with documented factions including JAS operating in Borno state.
… In the Lake Chad Basin, where Boko Haram’s insurgency has killed over 37,500 people since 2011 and displaced 3.3 million, traditional shura councils and merchant guilds have maintained cross-border trade networks that predate colonial borders. …
… Whenever Biya eventually leaves office, his successor will inherit a country also facing attacks by Boko Haram militants in the north and deep economic frustration among young people. …
… Islamist insurgents such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have wrought havoc in the country for more than 15 years, killing thousands of people, but their attacks have been largely confined to the majority Muslim northeast. …
… followers. He said statements perceived as attacks on religious beliefs could trigger retaliation and counter-retaliation, potentially escalating into wider communal tensions. Mr Saani cited experiences from Nigeria, including the case of Mohammed Yusuf, founder of Boko Haram …
… Islamist insurgents, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), continue to stage attacks in the northeast, while heavily armed criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, operate across parts of the northwest. …
… ups are being assisted by military personnel, Bashir Galma, a security analyst and retired army major, told the BBC. “I know there have been instances where plans are made for an attack on a location and the information finds its way to either [militant Islamist group] Boko Haram …
… They admitted to concealing information about those behind the attacks and confessed to being members of an affiliate of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. …
Policymakers misdiagnose so-called "ungoverned spaces" in Africa—territories where formal state authority appears absent—as institutional voids prone to violence and extremism. In reality, these areas are governed differently through alternative authorities and institutional arrangements; the question is not whether governance exists, but who governs and for whose interests.
Policymakers misdiagnose so-called "ungoverned spaces" in Africa—territories where formal state authority appears absent—as institutional voids prone to violence and extremism. In reality, these areas are governed differently through alternative authorities and institutional arrangements; the question is not whether governance exists, but who governs and for whose interests.
Paul Biya, 93 and president of Cameroon since 1982, left on June 7 for what his office called a "brief private stay in Europe" and has not returned in two months, prompting questions about his health and who is running the country in his absence.
More than 50 Muslim and Christian leaders in Nigeria have signed an interfaith peace accord in Abuja to promote religious harmony. The accord was signed months after U.S. President Trump called Nigeria a "disgraced country" and threatened military action over what he said was the treatment of Christians by "Islamic Terrorists."
Adib Saani, Executive Director of the Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, has urged security agencies to act firmly against religious hate and extremist speech, warning that inflammatory religious statements could heighten tensions and undermine peaceful relations between religious communities.
President Bola Tinubu has approved military salary increases of up to 80%, effective September 1, aimed at boosting troop welfare as Nigeria faces insurgency, banditry, and kidnappings. The new pay structure will increase the armed forces' annual wage bill to 924 billion naira from 660 billion naira.
Private Mohammed Yusuf was arrested in Maiduguri after allegedly supplying military uniforms to "terrorist" and "criminal" groups; he had deserted his unit and was attempting to flee to Cameroon. The arrest has renewed questions about potential collusion between security personnel and armed groups contributing to Nigeria's persistent insecurity.
At least 30 people, including eight children, were killed when armed gunmen attacked Naridon village in Nigeria's Kaduna state early Monday, shooting residents and burning houses, residents said. The attack reflects escalating violence by armed gangs targeting communities in northwestern and north-central Nigeria.
Three men in Nigeria have been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to offences linked to kidnappings of pupils and teachers in Oyo state. They admitted to concealing information about those behind the attacks and confessed to being members of an affiliate of Boko Haram.
At least 36 children and a staff member are missing after gunmen abducted them from a school in Nigeria's northeast, marking the third such mass school abduction since May. The article chronicles recent years of school kidnappings across Nigeria, ranging from November 2025 incidents in Niger and Kebbi states to earlier cases in 2021 and 2024.
Militants stormed a secondary school in Lassa, Borno state on Monday, kidnapping students during national examinations. Security forces rescued ten victims and killed one soldier and a paramilitary member in a firefight, but the exact number of abducted students remains uncertain.
Gunmen attacked Government Day Secondary School in Borno state during national examinations on Monday, abducting students; the military rescued 10 students and teachers after a firefight in which one soldier and one paramilitary member were killed, though other students remained unaccounted for as security agencies searched nearby forests.
President Bola Tinubu declared that Nigeria's security forces killed more than 13,000 insurgents over the past year and that insurgency-related deaths have dropped 81 per cent since he took power in 2023. He also noted that 124,000 fighters and dependents have laid down their arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor.
Former media aide Bashir Ahmad said former President Goodluck Jonathan should not be blamed entirely for Boko Haram's activities, arguing that security is a shared responsibility requiring participation from government, communities, traditional institutions, and religious leaders.
Nigeria's military freed 360 men, women and children held by JAS, a Boko Haram faction, in the Mandara mountains in Borno state after an intelligence-led operation. Two children died in captivity due to exhaustion and harsh conditions.
At least 360 people kidnapped by Boko Haram from a community in Nigeria's Borno state in March have been freed from a remote mountain hideout, though the circumstances—military operation versus mediated release—are disputed, with local mediators claiming 416 were freed.
Armed groups raided three schools in Oyo state in southwest Nigeria on May 15, abducting more than 30 students and a teacher, marking an escalation of kidnapping-for-ransom operations into a region previously considered relatively safe compared to the unstable north.
Nigerian politician Peter Obi won the Nigeria Democratic Congress primary and announced he will run for president again in January after quitting an opposition alliance less than a month earlier, setting up another three-way contest against incumbent Bola Tinubu and a divided opposition.
US President Donald Trump's new counter-terrorism strategy for Africa replaces long-term troop deployments and nation-building with short-term campaigns and cooperation with local authorities, using defined timelines and targets to eliminate threats before withdrawing. The strategy aims to prevent Jihadist groups from establishing bases threatening US interests and to protect Christians from attacks, while also expanding the definition of terrorism to include drug cartels and left-wing anarchists.
The U.S. Africa Command says it has carried out additional airstrikes against Islamic State targets in northeastern Nigeria in coordination with the Nigerian government. The strikes killed more than 20 Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants in the Metele area of Borno State, following the joint U.S.-Nigerian mission a day earlier that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the second in command of Islamic State globally.
Forty-two Nigerian school children went missing on Saturday after suspected Islamist militants attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Borno state's Askira-Uba Local Government Area, a senator for the area said. According to the senator, 32 students were abducted from the school and another 10 were seized from their homes nearby.
Nigeria and the United States say they have killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by US President Donald Trump as the "second in command of ISIS globally," in a joint operation in the Lake Chad Basin. Al-Minuki was killed along with several of his lieutenants during a strike on his compound in Metele, Borno state, with Nigerian and US forces reporting zero casualties.
Suspected Islamist militants abducted more than 50 schoolchildren, including toddlers as young as two years old, from three schools in Borno State's Askira-Uba Local Government Area on Friday morning. The coordinated assault targeted Government Day Secondary School, Mussa Central Primary School, and SUBEB Primary School, with gunmen striking around 9:00 a.m. local time while classes were in session.
Gunmen have kidnapped more than 50 children from three schools in north-eastern Nigeria; most of those missing are aged between two and five years old. Eyewitnesses say the suspects used the children as human shields while fleeing on motorbikes, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Nigeria and the United States say they have killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by US President Donald Trump as the "second in command of ISIS globally," in a joint operation in the Lake Chad Basin. The strike on his compound in Metele, Borno state also killed several of his lieutenants, and the Nigerian military reported zero casualties among their forces.
Chad's military conducted air strikes on Boko Haram militants in the Lake Chad region; a Nigerian fishermen's association chairman reported that more than 40 union members are feared dead, with some killed by strikes and others drowned while fleeing in overloaded boats. Chad's presidency said it carried out retaliatory strikes after Boko Haram attacks last Monday and Wednesday on Chadian military bases.
Boko Haram militants attacked a Chadian military outpost on Barka Tolorom island in Lake Chad on Monday night, killing 23 soldiers and injuring 26 others. Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno condemned the assault as a cowardly attack and vowed to continue fighting the group "with renewed determination until this threat is completely eradicated."
Gunmen have killed at least 29 people in an attack on a village in Nigeria's north-eastern Adamawa state, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. Authorities say militants raided a football pitch and opened fire at random, then burned houses, places of worship and motorcycles, with the governor saying the attack was an 'affront to our humanity.'
Militants affiliated with the Islamic State launched an overnight raid on Guyaku village in Adamawa state, northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 29 people and destroying property including houses, places of worship, and motorcycles. The group claimed responsibility via Telegram, marking the latest escalation in the nation's ongoing security crisis.
Gunmen killed at least 29 people in an attack on a village in Nigeria's north-eastern Adamawa state, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. Authorities say militants raided a football pitch and opened fire at random, burning houses, places of worship, and motorcycles, with the governor announcing intensified security operations.
Gunmen raided an orphanage and school in Kogi State, northern Nigeria, abducting 23 pupils and the school proprietor's wife. Authorities rescued 15 pupils, but eight children and the proprietor's wife remain in captivity, with ongoing search operations underway.