15/05 • NIGERIA

In Nigeria’s North Central states, particularly Plateau and Benue, attacks linked to long-running herder/farmer tensions have surged. Between late March and late April, armed groups killed at least 56 people Benue State, with this number expected to rise.

These killings are rooted in competition over land and water, strained by climate stress, population growth, and historical grievances between Muslim Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farming communities.

Local leaders have described the attacks as coordinated and targeted. Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang called the killings in Bassa a “genocide” against Indigenous communities. Thousands have been displaced, many fleeing with little more than what they could carry.

Meanwhile, the North East is facing renewed assaults from jihadist groups. Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have both stepped up attacks in Borno and Adamawa states.

In one week alone, Boko Haram killed 14 farmers in Gwoza and ISWAP killed 15 people during a funeral in Chibok, an area still scarred by the 2014 abduction of schoolgirls. ISWAP have also claimed responsibility for a series of deadly IED attacks along the Maiduguri–Damboa highway.

Borno’s governor has warned that the state is “losing ground” to insurgents regrouping in the Sambisa Forest and Lake Chad region. In Adamawa, communities in Hong LGA were also targeted in April, leaving at least 17 dead.

The ripple effect of this conflict is stark: over 33 million Nigerians are projected to face food insecurity by August 2025. According to the World Food Programme and Nigerian government reports, violence has disrupted farming, displaced rural communities, and weakened supply chains. Many affected families are now reliant on overstretched aid or have no access to support at all.

With limited international funding, humanitarian agencies warn that food assistance may be cut further, deepening the suffering.