A Christians commemorated Palm Sunday on March 29, bandits on motorcycles attacked the Anguwan Rukuba community in the Jos North council area of Plateau, killing at least 28 residents and injuring many others. The attack was one of the latest in a series of attacks on Nigerian communities in the first quarter of 2026.
Over the years, many parts of Nigeria have faced security challenges ranging from banditry to Boko Haram insurgency, mass kidnappings for ransom, and farmer-herder violence, many of which are often underreported, particularly in remote communities.
The North-West, Nigeria’s most populous zone, and the North-East have faced Boko Haram and banditry for over a decade. Meanwhile, the North-Central region also suffers from terrorist attacks. These attacks have displaced thousands in the worst-hit states in the northern region.
Nigeria ranked fourth in the global terrorism index released on March 19, 2026, by the Institute for Economics & Peace, recording a 46 per cent increase in deaths from terrorism in 2025.
The report said, “Islamic State West Africa Province and Boko Haram were responsible for 80 per cent of all terrorism deaths in the country.”
According to rights organisation Amnesty International, at least 323 people were killed in rural communities in Benue, Kwara, Kebbi, Katsina, Niger, and Zamfara within 21 days in February 2026.
On October 31, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump declared Nigeria a Country of Particular Concernfollowing campaigns against “Christian genocide” in Africa’s most populous nation.
Less than two months later, the U.S. military carried out a series of air strikes against terrorist targets in the northern part of Nigeria, marking America’s first kinetic action in the West African country.
Despite this and persistent promises by President Bola Tinubu’s government to rid Nigeria of terrorists through the deployment of advanced technology and security personnel, many communities and military bases still bear the brunt of acts of terrorism.
From Chigwi village and the Anguwan Rukuba community in Plateau, to Sabon Gari in Borno, Woro and Nuku in Kwara, and Doma village in Katsina, several communities were attacked by bandits, Boko Haram, and ISWAP terrorists in the first three months of 2026.
