Northern Nigeria is confronting an escalating security emergency as a loose but deadly convergence of local bandits, armed herders, and foreign jihadist fighters tighten their grip across nine states in the North-West and North-Central regions.
Investigations reveal that communities in Sokoto, Kwara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kogi, and Niger have become targets of interlinked criminal factions whose activities now mirror insurgency-level operations—kidnappings, mass raids, extortion, territorial occupation, and ideological policing.
Security sources confirm that local bandit groups are increasingly integrating foreign fighters fleeing instability in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic, resulting in more coordinated, sophisticated, and mobile attacks. Unlike structured terror organisations such as Boko Haram or ISWAP, these groups operate fluidly,shifting alliances, leadership, and camps with little traceable pattern.
This investigative report presents a state-by-state analysis of the actors, their methods, and the widening humanitarian toll.
SOKOTO: Where Herdsmen Banditry Meets Lakurawa Jihadism
Sokoto has emerged as a major hotspot, hosting two primary actors:
Profit-driven Fulani bandits
Ideology-driven Lakurawa jihadists with foreign links
Bandits operate from forests in Gundumi and Tureta, attacking at night, rustling livestock, abducting families, and returning repeatedly to extract ransoms.
But the Lakurawa faction,reportedly fleeing Sahel conflicts,presents a deadlier threat. Operating from Gongono in Tangaza and Gudu LGAs, they enforce harsh Shari’a codes, impose forced prayers, and punish perceived resistance.
“They come at night on motorcycles. We no longer sleep at home,” a Gudu trader told our correspondent.
Another resident recounted how the militants burned homes of those who refused to comply with their religious orders.
The fusion of economic and ideological violence has crippled rural life,empty villages, collapsed markets, abandoned farmlands, and mass displacement.
KADUNA: Criminal Gangs Entangled With Ansaru Extremists
Kaduna remains a battleground for:
Cattle-rustling and kidnap-for-ransom gangs
Ansaru-linked extremists seeking ideological expansion
Bandits raid highways, farms, and villages, while Ansaru cells establish structured camps in Kuyello, Maganda, Gagumi, and Gayam, targeting mining sites, schools, and trading posts.
In Birnin Gwari, a farmer said: “We cannot go to our farms without security escorts. They come armed and disappear into the forest before the military arrives.”
Recent attacks in Layin Danauta and Manini underscore the entrenched nature of these groups, despite sustained military pressure.
KANO: Spillover Violence From Katsina
Communities near the Katsina border have experienced repeated incursions by bandits pushing into Kano.
Areas like Faruruwa, Goron Dutse, Kuraku, Tsaure, Biresawa, Tsundu, and Yanganau are worst hit.
“They come in over 100 motorcycles—three on each bike,” said Isyaku Umar, a local security committee leader.
Poor terrain and long response times worsen the threat.
KWARA: Mahmuda Faction, Armed Herders, and Nigerien Fighters
Remote LGAs, Baruten, Edu, Kaiama, and Patigi,are under siege from the Mahmuda splinter group, local herdsmen, and cross-border fighters.
The Eruku attack on CAC Oke-Isegun remains one of the most traumatic cases, with survivors recalling how attackers “killed three people and took 38.”
Government-backed patrols and hunter groups have had limited success due to the vast forest cover.
BENUE: Armed Herdsmen Enforce Parallel Rule
Benue continues to face relentless night raids by armed herdsmen and remnants of Terwase Agwaza’s militia network.
Community leaders say the groups impose illegal levies, dictate movement, and violently enforce territorial claims.
“Their mission is to kill, maim, rape, and displace,” said Chief Iorbee Ihagh.
Entire wards,such as Moon Ward,remain inaccessible without heavy security.
KOGI: Transit Hub for Bandits From Four States
Kogi’s vast forest corridors serve as a haven for:
Local kidnap gangs
Armed robbers
Transit bandits from Nasarawa, Niger, Kaduna, and even the FCT
The worst-hit areas include Kabba-Bunu, Ofere, Masalaci-Boka, Oke-Onigbin, and Yoruba-speaking communities in Yagba.
Residents describe night raids where dozens of armed men surround entire villages before abducting residents and retreating into thick forests.
KEBBI: Migrating Armed Groups From Three Borders
Kebbi’s security challenge is shaped by the movement of heavily armed groups from Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger Republic.
Communities in Zuru, Danko-Wasagu, Sakaba, Fakai, and Ngaski face extortion, farm levies, ambushes, and kidnappings.
Farmers report that refusing to pay “harvest levies” results in their farmlands being razed or family members abducted.
NIGER: Mahmuda Factions, Local Gangs, and Armed Herders
Niger State, particularly Shiroro, Rafi, Munya, Lapai, Paikoro, and Mariga,remains one of the most challenging theatres of insecurity.
Groups raid mining sites, block roads, ambush market convoys, and overrun remote villages.
“They come suddenly at night and vanish into the forest when security arrives,” a Rafi resident said.
KATSINA: Long-Established Bandit Enclaves
Katsina’s forests,Rugu, Dajin Kogo, Safana—host some of the oldest and most entrenched bandit networks in Nigeria.
Areas such as Jibia, Batsari, Kankara, Danmusa, Sabuwa, and Dandume face routine raids and mass displacement.
Many villages along the forest corridors are completely deserted.
ZAMFARA: Epicentre of Armed Banditry
Zamfara remains the heart of the crisis.
The Lakurawa, Mahmuda, and local bandit networks operate with high sophistication, aided by foreign fighters and informants.
Communities in Maradun, Gusau, Anka, and neighbouring areas experience frequent mass abductions, night raids, and destruction of property.
Schools remain shut, farms abandoned, and displacement spirals.
A Networked Crisis Demanding Regional Solutions
Across the nine affected states, findings reveal a multi-layered insurgency rooted in:
Foreign jihadist infiltration
Local banditry
Armed herder militias
Criminal gangs exploiting ungoverned spaces
Cross-border mobility
Experts insist that Nigeria must combine intelligence-led operations, regional collaboration, community partnerships, and economic interventions to dismantle the hydra-headed threat.
Without urgent and coordinated action, millions of residents in the North-West and North-Central may remain trapped in cycles of fear, displacement, and economic collapse.