AUGUST 2026

Mangu raids

On a Sunday morning in mid-August, over 100 armed gunmen suspected to be Fulani terrorists attacked Jwak Maitumbi community in Mangu LGA, killing at least 30 residents, injuring others and burning more than 50 houses, shops, churches, health centres and food barns. Security forces did not respond to distress calls until after the attackers had fled into surrounding bushes and rocks. Two days later, heavily armed gunmen invaded Bin-Per community from Monday night into the early hours of Tuesday, moving house to house and killing 24 residents in their sleep while burning at least 38 houses, farmlands and stored grain. The 24 were given a mass burial the same day, and women from the community staged a peaceful protest demanding government protection. A third assault, on Amper in the BWI district of Mangu, left over twenty people feared killed, including women and children, with others reported missing. A further night attack in the state, at an LGA not specified in source reporting, saw gunmen kill sleeping residents house to house; eight members of a single family were killed in one compound and a two-year-old child survived with gunshot wounds.

Riyom incidents

Suspected Berom militia attacked Fulani herders at Wereng community in Riyom LGA, killing three herders, injuring two and shooting dead approximately 25 cattle. Separately, attacks on communities in Riyom and Mangu LGAs on a Tuesday night killed five and injured several others, with houses belonging to both herding and farming communities burnt and women and children forced to flee.

Abductions and other deaths

A pastor abducted alongside another cleric on the Jos-Bokkos road was found dead at the end of the month, while the second cleric remained in captivity; four other people were killed and one injured in separate attacks across Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Mangu LGAs. Distinct from armed violence, a mining pit collapsed on miners at Kassa community, Barkin Ladi LGA, on the evening of 12 August, killing seven and injuring others.

Operation Hadin Kai strikes

Air platforms conducted multiple precision strikes between the night of 21 August and the early hours of 22 August, eliminating approximately 38 suspected terrorists at two locations, 26 near Aduwa in two sequential strikes and 12 near Buratai. Nigerian Air Force platforms subsequently delivered precision-guided munitions against enclaves in forests in Monguno and Biu LGAs, killing more than 26 fighters. In the Mandaragirau axis, a clash killed three senior ISWAP commanders and more than 22 fighters; security sources stated that surviving elements remain capable of regrouping or launching retaliatory attacks.

Kukawa engagements

Kukawa LGA was the focus of repeated late-month fighting. Terrorists attacked troops of the 101 Special Forces Battalion but were repelled by ground and air forces, with an estimated 51 terrorist deaths and 10 motorcycles destroyed; four soldiers were injured. Troops of Sector 3 separately repelled an attack near Kadiya village, neutralising 26 terrorists and destroying 10 motorcycles, with four soldiers injured and an MRAP vehicle damaged. A further foiled Boko Haram attack on Kukawa town killed scores of terrorists in a coordinated ground and air response.

School abduction at Lassa

Suspected ISWAP fighters attacked Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Askira/Uba LGA on a Monday, killing a teacher and abducting students and staff. As of Tuesday evening, 36 students, 25 female and 11 male, remained unaccounted for despite a military rescue operation that recovered 10 victims near Daggu, during which one soldier and one Civilian Joint Task Force member were killed.

Surrenders and route security

Between 21 and 22 August, army troops killed 40 terrorists nationwide, including 38 neutralised in Guardian aircraft precision airstrikes in Borno, while foiling an attack on commuters along the Gajiram-Mairari Road in Nganzai LGA. Five JAS fighters surrendered with ammunition in Bama LGA during the same window.

Alimosho unrest

Ikola in Alimosho LGA saw the month's worst episode. A disagreement between a northerner and an alleged cult figure escalated into communal unrest that killed four men and injured several others, prompting a joint security response. In the same area, a dispute over N200 between touts and a tricycle rider escalated into a violent clash that killed three people, injured two and set some buildings ablaze.

Cult and urban violence

Suspected cultists arrived by vehicle in Abule Ijesha, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, fatally shooting a security guard in the head before attacking him with an axe, then firing sporadically into the crowd as they fled and wounding three girls. Rival Eiye members from Mafoluku and Ewu clashed during an Isese Day celebration in Oshodi-Isale, hospitalising four, one stabbed in the face. In Eti-Osa, a machete- and knife-wielding man stormed IMAX Cinemas in Lekki on a Friday night, killing two, stabbing one guard to death and injuring another before being mobbed to death by onlookers. A 23-year-old female Nigerian Law School student was found dead at the institution's Victoria Island hostel on 7 August; police opened an investigation.

Port corridor

A truck crushed two people to death at Diamond Tank Junction on Creek Road, Apapa, amid an alleged extortion attempt near the port.

Operation Clean Sweep IV

The Joint Task Force North-West's Operation Fansan Yamma launched 'Operation Clean Sweep IV' on 14 August, with ground troops clearing terrorist enclaves in Dutsinma LGA, Katsina, and air strikes neutralising scores of terrorists gathered on motorcycles in Anka LGA, Zamfara; 160 fatalities were recorded. The offensive also targets the Lakurawa network and aims to deny armed groups access to border areas, the River Niger axis and Kainji Lake National Park.

Attacks on state forces

Suspected bandits attacked Kasuwar-Daji community in Kaura Namoda LGA on a Saturday night, overrunning a military outpost, killing four soldiers and injuring others before abducting approximately 70 residents, mostly women and children, and looting shops. The attackers set a military Hilux and soldiers' accommodation ablaze before fleeing as reinforcements arrived from Gusau. A follow-on late-night assault on Kasuwar Daji and on Lajinge village in Sabon-Birni LGA, Sokoto, killed at least six soldiers and 12 civilians, including a father and his sons who were burnt alive. A separate gun duel between bandits and police in the state left 17 bandits and 10 police officers dead.

Highway ambush and vigilante action

Armed men blocked the Gusau-Funtua highway near Unguwar Chida village in Tsafe LGA on 27 August, shooting at motorists, killing eight travellers, wounding nine and abducting eight passengers from a commercial bus; security forces later killed 17 suspected bandits in a pursuit gunfight. Earlier in the month, troops of 1 Brigade's Forward Operating Base Tsafe rescued 33 passengers kidnapped while travelling through Magazu village in the same LGA. Vigilantes acting on intelligence ambushed bandits around Gamo Forest in Gummi LGA, killing 15 and wounding several, with two vigilantes also killed. In Talata Mafara LGA, bandits invaded Taketsaba village, killing three residents including a Civil Defence officer and abducting at least 10 people including women and babies.

Election-period violence

Seventeen verified violence incidents were recorded across 10 LGAs during and after the 2026 governorship election, producing over 44 documented victims of gunshots, physical assaults, intimidation and harassment; one death was recorded in that tally, a 60-year-old man killed in Osogbo during a gun duel between the governor's security escorts and gunmen. Post-election violence and property destruction were reported in several communities. Two days before the Saturday poll, four Accord Party supporters were killed in the Ilesa area, according to the Adeleke campaign group, while suspected political thugs opened fire on APC supporters at a campaign rally in Ilesa's Igbogi area, killing two and leaving two in critical condition. An APC member and nephew of the party's governorship campaign Director-General was shot dead at a road junction in Esa-Oke, Obokun LGA, with a second APC member hospitalised; the APC alleged Accord Party hoodlums were responsible.

Confraternity clashes in Ilesa

A clash between suspected Aiye and Eiye confraternity members at Imo Area in Ilesa killed three on a Monday night, with a reprisal shooting the following morning at the Igbogi/Ikoti Area killing two more and leaving two with gunshot injuries. A separate report of the Imo area clash recorded three suspected cult members shot dead.

Motor park contests in Irewole

Five people were feared killed in Ikire, Irewole LGA, following a violent clash between rival political thugs over control of a motor park. A related confrontation between police personnel and hoodlums attempting to seize the motor park and the local government secretariat killed two, occurring after a state government warning against such activity.

Kainji corridor abductions and rescues

Troops of Operation SAVANNAH SHIELD freed 308 abducted persons held in Kainji Lake National Park, Borgu LGA, on 8 August, described by the Defence Headquarters as the largest single rescue of the reporting week, with victims drawn from Kwara and Niger states; a separately reported ONSA-led operation recording 308 rescues across the same two states appears to describe the same action. Weeks later, bandits attacked mosques in Dekara and adjoining communities in Borgu during Friday prayers, killing over 30 people and abducting more than 60, who were taken into the park forest; several houses were burned, including that of the district head. In Rafi LGA, about 75 persons were abducted at Polwaya village on 19 August; security operatives mobilised, the abductors fled, and all 75 were rescued unhurt with their belongings. In Mashegu LGA, bandits released 48 children aged 7 to 12 kidnapped three weeks earlier, after a ransom was paid; one girl died in captivity and five escaped.

Air strikes and bandit convoys

Nationwide military operations from 7 to 13 August included air strikes at Mariga, Niger State, which the Defence Headquarters reported accounted for approximately 120 bodies and 300 motorcycles. Earlier in the month, a bandit convoy of about 240 motorcycles clashed with security forces near Rijau town, killing 13 personnel despite being struck twice by Nigerian Air Force jets, as herders fled into the town. Nine bodies were recovered on the Wawa-Lumma road in Borgu LGA after suspected bandits killed travellers on the route; police and military personnel were dispatched to evacuate the bodies and clearance operations were intensified.

Communal violence and other fatalities

More than 20 people were killed and households displaced in a fresh outbreak of communal violence between rival local groups at Kokoli community, Borgu LGA, prompting residents to flee. Separately, about 15 persons are feared dead after a vehicle caught fire in the early hours of 8 August along the Enagi-Costain Duma Sharp Corner Road in Mokwa LGA, with victims trapped inside; the cause and the identities of the victims were not established and the toll was unconfirmed by authorities.

Lakurawa assaults

Suspected bandits linked to Lakurawa attacked Ungushi community in Kebbe LGA during Friday Jumu'a prayers, killing at least 32 civilians in a prolonged assault lasting from approximately 2:15pm Friday to Saturday morning. The attackers raided several neighbouring communities, stealing livestock, burning seven houses, two shops and three vehicles, and displacing large numbers of residents into towns in Sokoto and Kebbi states. Further Lakurawa attacks in the state, at a location not specified in source reporting, left 32 residents and four soldiers dead, while local defenders killed 13 of the attackers.

Sabon Birni and Rabah

Coordinated bandit attacks across Kebbe, Sabon Birni and Shagari LGAs on 3-4 August left at least one police officer and 21 civilians feared dead, 37 abducted, two houses burned and livestock stolen, triggering mass displacement from approximately 20 villages; a boat carrying fleeing residents capsized, leaving 18 missing after seven were rescued. Heavily armed terrorists attacked Tsamaye community in Sabon Birni LGA, killing at least 21 and abducting 37. Armed bandits also struck Lajinge village in the Sabon Birni axis late at night, killing 11 and stealing livestock. Separate attacks on three communities between Friday evening and early Sunday killed at least 16 across Lajinge and at Maikujera and Gandi in Rabah LGA, with over 150 cattle rustled and cash, fuel and goods valued at over ₦250 million stolen.

Security response

The Nigerian Army launched a major clearance operation in Maikujera town, Rabah LGA, on 28 August, killing scores of suspected bandits as part of efforts to dismantle criminal networks. The Nigerian Air Force intensified joint operations under Operation Fansan Yamman, strengthening its air presence in the state. In Wurno LGA, bandits reportedly transported in a Canter truck attacked three communities on a Monday night, killing seven and abducting 17 including 15 women, operating for about four hours before police arrived in armoured vehicles and forced them to withdraw.

Operations against IPOB/ESN

Troops of 15 Brigade, operating under Joint Task Force South East (Operation UDO KA) and working with the DSS and the Agunechemba Vigilante Group, raided three IPOB/ESN camps at Osuakwa on 16 August, killing militants and arresting suspects while recovering firearms, explosives, motorcycles and communication equipment; separate reports of the action record three and five militants killed and three and four arrests respectively. The Nigeria Police Force reported the neutralisation of six suspected terrorists at a camp in Amiyi, Ogbaru LGA, between 21 and 23 August, with AK rifles, IEDs and locally made firearms recovered.

Cult killings in Awka

Suspected cultists shot dead three people in separate attacks in Awka on 31 August, including a local comedian trailed and killed in his vehicle; a stampede from the earlier shooting left several injured. Police in Awka South confirmed two fatalities at separate locations on the same Sunday evening, disputing higher figures reported elsewhere, and launched a manhunt for three suspects who fled in a silver Toyota Corolla. Earlier in the month, the state Police Command's Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, killed two suspected armed robbers and recovered an AK-47 during a shootout at Eziowele, Idemili North LGA.

Protest and criminal fatalities

Residents of Ebenesi Community in Nnobi, Idemili South LGA, protested against the planned demolition of ancestral homes for a TCN power transmission line project, with allegations that six elders died amid the tension surrounding the proposed demolition. Three children were found dead at a native doctor's residence in the state; police arrested the suspect and opened an investigation.

Operations in Bakori

An intelligence-led operation by the DSS and community vigilantes neutralised a bandit kingpin and over 60 suspected bandits in Bakori LGA on 2 August. Later in the month, a joint operation by the Nigerian Army, DSS, Katsina Community Watch Corps and CJTF foiled a planned mass kidnapping at Gidan Bawa village in the same LGA, killing 24 bandits loyal to a named kingpin and recovering 19 stolen cattle, with efforts continuing to track those who fled. Troops of Operation Fansan Yamma rescued 14 kidnapped victims, six male and eight female, on 18 August after engaging terrorists in Madaci Forest, Sabuwa LGA; the captives had been abducted from locations around Dandume, Bakori and Funtua.

Attacks despite peace agreements

Despite peace agreements brokered between communities and bandit groups across multiple LGAs, attacks, killings, abductions and displacement continued. Thirteen people were killed in Kankia's Sukuntuni Ward and three more in Bakori's Kandarawa Ward, with several women and girls abducted, livestock rustled and houses and shops set ablaze. About 40 bandits attacked Unguwar Guru community in Kankia LGA in the early hours of a Monday, killing at least seven, moving house to house and setting homes ablaze; neighbouring communities were also affected and residents fled.

Raids on rural communities

Suspected bandits invaded Shuwaki community in Bakori LGA on a Saturday night, killing one resident and abducting approximately 31 people, mostly women, while rustling livestock and carting away food and valuables; they operated for several hours as security personnel were unable to respond due to ambush fears. At Unguwar Aminu, also in Bakori, attackers killed two, abducted six and injured four with gunshots. In Malumfashi LGA, bandits on approximately 50 motorcycles attacked Dansarai community on a Friday evening, killing three, wounding five, abducting a woman, rustling livestock and looting shops over a nearly five-hour rampage.

Ukum and Guma attacks

Suspected armed herdsmen attacked communities in Ukum LGA on a Sunday, leaving at least 10 feared dead and several injured, with parts of Mbazun Mbaterem including Tse Yawe and Ikpuu targeted. A parallel account records an assault on five communities in Mbaterem at around 5am the same Sunday, killing at least four in Aboajio alone and forcing residents into the bush, with the casualty figure expected to rise as searches continued. Earlier in the month, suspected armed herdsmen attacked Abaushwa community in Guma LGA late on a Monday night, killing at least four including a father and his two children and injuring several others; security personnel were subsequently deployed. A Tiv militia group killed a truck driver and a woman in the state, at an LGA not specified in source reporting.

Highway abductions and rescues

Gunmen ambushed a vehicle travelling from Enugu to Abuja along the Ankpechi-Otukpo axis in Ohimini LGA on a Thursday evening, shooting the driver and abducting 14 passengers; police launched a rescue operation the following morning and recovered five victims including a four-year-old boy, with nine remaining in captivity. Joint tactical teams conducted a night operation at Amla-Cho Forest on 20 August, rescuing 13 kidnapped bus passengers unharmed as the bandits fled. Of five persons abducted while returning from Idelle Market in Oju LGA, one female victim escaped from a forest hideout in Utonkon district, Ado LGA, prompting a Community Protection Guard operation that arrested two suspected kidnappers pursuing her.

Other deaths

Four siblings aged 3 to 12 died in Amufu community, Okpokwu LGA, after falling ill from a soft drink allegedly given to them by a relative; the suspect denied knowledge of the circumstances and was picked up by community youths.

Hong LGA insurgency

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked Gaya community in Hong LGA on a Monday night, killing a police inspector and seven civilians and burning two houses; military, police, hunters and vigilantes were deployed in a manhunt. Late in the month, troops of Operation Hadin Kai working with the ONSA Tactical Team killed over 20 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists and destroyed their camp in the same LGA, though several fighters reportedly escaped.

Girei killings and sexual violence

Girei LGA recorded separate homicides of women. A woman was allegedly beheaded by a man who had taken her to a hotel room near Yola on a Friday afternoon; members of the public forced entry after hearing a fight and apprehended the suspect. A 27-year-old man allegedly slit the throat of a female commercial sex worker at a Girei hotel on 14 August and was arrested alongside the hotel owner, with a dagger recovered as evidence. A 38-year-old deaf woman was killed and beheaded at Unguwan Abuja on 21 August, her headless body found on a mountain the following day. Separately, an Islamic teacher in Numan LGA was arraigned before a Chief Magistrate's Court in Yola on charges of indecent treatment, sexual assault and defilement of two girls aged eight and nine during Quranic recitation classes; he pleaded not guilty and was remanded.

Security force conduct

A soldier on patrol in Mubi North allegedly shot a businessman at close range after following him to his residence, the bullet grazing his shoulder and striking his lower jaw; the victim was referred to Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital in Yola with severe injuries, and residents staged a peaceful protest demanding justice. In a separate case, a murder suspect was arrested after allegedly confessing to killing his father, a retired police inspector declared missing, and dumping the body in an open well; SCID Yola exhumed the remains.

The Makuku assault

At approximately 0600hrs on 10 August, over 200 armed men on motorcycles launched a coordinated attack on Makuku in Sakaba LGA, approaching from three directions and targeting a police security camp occupied by Special Intervention Squad and Police Mobile Force personnel. Ten police officers of the 44 Police Mobile Force, one vigilante and two civilians were killed, and two officers were injured. Security forces, reinforced by the Army and Air Force, repelled the attack, neutralising at least 17 bandits and destroying four motorcycles along the Rafin Makuku axis. An air strike by the air component of Operation Fansan Yamma killed bandits advancing on motorcycles from Zamfara into Kebbi, disrupting their move toward Makuku. Defence Headquarters reporting for the week of 7-13 August separately recorded 18 terrorists killed at Makuku Village.

Abductions and captivity

Suspected bandits attacked farmers on the outskirts of Wasagu town in Danko/Wasagu LGA on a Wednesday afternoon, killing one and abducting four others about one kilometre from the community; local sources indicated nearly 50 residents of Wasagu and neighbouring communities remained in bandit captivity. In Shanga, sustained police pressure on kidnappers who had abducted five brothers led to the release of three victims and the escape of two; one victim later identified and helped arrest a suspect found with his stolen phone.

Ferry mishap

A ferry mishap in Birnin Kebbi on 19 August endangered a group of police personnel, 19 of whom were rescued. Recovery operations for missing personnel and a service firearm remained ongoing, with SCID Birnin Kebbi investigating.