SEPTEMBER 2026

The 14 September attacks

On the night of 14 September, suspected terrorists killed 15 people in coordinated attacks across Jos South, Mangu and Riyom LGAs. Nine of the victims were passengers whose vehicle was shot at in Dungus. Other reports describe gunmen described as suspected Fulani bandits firing on a commercial bus at the Dungus Kuru T-junction in Jos South, killing six passengers and injuring two. They also describe six commuters killed in Mangu and 13 people killed when gunmen fired on a vehicle heading to Jos. These reports may partly overlap. According to the reports, the Dungus Kuru and Mangu killings came hours after herders and their cattle were killed in Mangu, and one account said this suggested a reprisal cycle.

Killings in Barkin Ladi and Riyom

At least 10 people were killed in separate attacks across Barkin Ladi and Mangu in the week to 14 September, amid farmer-herder tensions, and security forces arrested 22 suspects. Between 19 and 20 September, attacks across Barkin Ladi and Riyom killed at least nine people, including five passengers travelling to Gana-Ropp and a pastor. By 23 September, at least seven more people had been killed, including two miners, and more than 20 hectares of farmland had been destroyed. The Berom Youth Moulders Association said communities were living in fear.

Attacks continue despite the curfew

Over two days to 27 September, terrorists and bandits attacked several communities in Mangu and Barkin Ladi despite a dusk-to-dawn curfew, killing at least 11 people. Attackers destroyed farmlands, homes, churches, businesses and food barns, and rustled more than 50 cows in Mangu.

Boko Haram and ISWAP fight each other

Renewed clashes between Boko Haram (JAS) and ISWAP over territory in the Chingolo area of Sambisa Forest, Bama LGA, killed more than 23 fighters, according to reports on 4 September. On 25 September, Operation HADIN KAI troops in Konduga LGA intercepted 43 family members linked to Boko Haram who had escaped captivity in Yuwe during the fighting. They were handed to 7 Military Intelligence Brigade for investigation.

Military operations

An air strike at Tumbunma Baba in the Tumbuns on 11 September destroyed fighters' structures and logistics hubs and killed about 18 fighters. Army operations from 31 August to 1 September, recorded in Bama, killed eight fighters and rescued 30 kidnap victims; one soldier was killed. Troops rescued eight abductees along the Gwoza East corridor on 13 September. The next day, troops rescued eight more and arrested six suspected ISWAP members and collaborators across Borno and Adamawa.

Booby-trap attack in Kala-Balge

On 24 September, suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters attacked Wumbi in Kala-Balge LGA and killed a vigilante commander. They booby-trapped his remains with an explosive device, which killed four more people and injured scores during the evacuation.

Abductions and attacks on vigilance personnel

On 8 September, bandits attacked Tunburku, Tudun Amada and Kallon Kura communities, killing two people and abducting 26. In Kubau LGA, gunmen killed three Kaduna State Vigilance Service (KADVIS) personnel on the Zaria-Pambegua road after the officers tried to stop their vehicle. The gunmen then shot two more officers at the KADVIS office. Hours earlier, suspected bandits had abducted the younger brother of a state lawmaker from his home in Kubau.

Raids in Ikara and Makarfi

On 9 September, police, vigilantes and hunters raided suspected bandit camps in Auchanawa and Wambai, Ikara LGA. They killed two suspects and rescued two victims, but three hunters were killed. A police raid in Ikara on 17 September killed four suspected kidnappers and freed two victims. A separate clearance operation in Makarfi LGA led to 12 arrests.

Detainees killed in Sanga

Around 12:30 a.m. on 21 September, troops were escorting five arrested suspected kidnappers to the gang's hideouts in Sanga LGA when other gang members attacked them. All five detainees were killed in the exchange of fire, no troops were hurt, and the attackers fled. The event appears three times in the data.

Mass abductions

On 27 September, bandits occupied Yargada in the Magami axis of Maru LGA for about four hours. They abducted about 50 women, killed a JIBWIS member, burned six vehicles and looted shops. Bandits also abducted 17 people in Sadawa village, Bukkuyum LGA, and no ransom demand or rescue had been reported.

Rescues by Operation FANSAN YAMMA

On 29 September, troops rescued 49 travellers from suspected kidnappers. Combat Team 7 rescued 46 victims around Fegen Baza and the Setraco Company site in Tsafe LGA, and troops freed 41 passengers abducted when their Senegal-Kano bus broke down on a Zamfara highway. On 4 September, troops freed 23 civilians from Gummi LGA who had been held for about three weeks near Wuya, Anka LGA, and repelled an attempted abduction in Dankurmi, Bungudu LGA.

Community Protection Guards ambush

On 15 September, the Zamfara Community Protection Guards ambushed bandits in the Mada axis of Gusau LGA after an attempted attack on civilians, killing eight; two escaped.

Villages emptied in the south

Over two weeks to 6 September, bandits abducted more than 100 people across Dandume, Funtua and Bakori LGAs, killed at least two, rustled cattle and forced residents to abandon about 15 villages. Coordinated attacks reported on 7 September across Bakori, Funtua, Faskari and Dandume killed at least 13 people, and attackers abducted farmers and rustled livestock.

Ambush in Bakori

Joint forces of the military, DSS, hunters and vigilantes ambushed and killed 18 bandits in Bakori LGA, foiling a planned mass kidnapping for ransom. They recovered weapons, motorcycles and 96 livestock. The ambush was reported on 21 and 22 September and appears twice in the data.

Rescues and arrests

Operation FANSAN YAMMA rescued 31 kidnap victims across Katsina and Kebbi on 14-15 September and killed two terrorists, including a gang leader. On 25 September, troops freed 14 victims in Faskari LGA, a day after arresting three suspected logistics couriers carrying N2.7 million in suspected ransom money. The state police command reported 247 arrests and 17 rescues in August.

Borgu captives executed

On 16 September, terrorists killed and beheaded 30 worshippers who had been held since a 21 August mass abduction from mosques in Dekara, Gbezhin, Sabon-Gida and Kpenya, Borgu LGA. Relatives were asked to collect the bodies.

Attacks on security forces and the Zamfara border

Two attacks on 24 September reportedly killed 57 security personnel; their locations and perpetrators were not disclosed. Around 13 September, bandits from the Sengeko axis kidnapped at least 100 people in Maburya, Mariga LGA. The raid was part of a week-long campaign along the Zamfara-Niger border to clear their main route.

Deaths in NSCDC custody

Suspected illegal miners detained by the NSCDC after a mining raid on 15-16 September died in custody. Initial reports said 33 were found dead in Minna, citing a suspected diphtheria outbreak, and later reports settled on 37. Amnesty International said 67 detainees had been held in a Minna cell built for 10 during extreme heat. The governor said the deaths occurred in the last of three adjacent cells at a mining site, and this location has not been reconciled with the Minna accounts. He said the bodies showed peeling skin, foam at the mouth and bleeding from the nose, mouth and ears, and that the cause was unconfirmed, with suffocation and toxic chemical exposure as the two theories. Witnesses alleged that more than 30 were beaten to death and that officers tried to dispose of the bodies without telling families. The state opened an investigation and suspended the NSCDC commandant. At least five records cover this event.

Rabah axis

On 7 September, bandits attacked Tofa in Rabah LGA, killing 10 people and abducting 40. A later account put the toll at between seven and 10 killed and 35 to 40 abducted, and said troops had earlier intercepted armed men moving towards nearby Ghandi. Coordinated attacks across Rabah, Isa and Dange Shuni killed at least 15 residents, and about 79 people were abducted.

Goronyo and Kebbe

Bandits attacked Kagara in Goronyo LGA, killing three people, including a mentally ill man who resisted abduction, and abducting 28. Twelve were released by the next afternoon, though police said all nine abductions they had confirmed ended in escape. In Illelar Dawagari, also in Goronyo, bandits abducted nine residents, shot one person and rustled more than 200 livestock. One captive's family paid N1 million, and the abductors then demanded a motorcycle. On 3 September, a raid lasting several hours on Girkau in Kebbe LGA killed five people and injured four.

Rescues

On 20 September, troops rescued 23 kidnap victims and arrested four suspected Lakurawa members. On 24 September, a police and military team foiled a bandit attack on passenger vehicles and rescued 30 victims unhurt.

Attacks on police in Ayilamo

On 11 September, more than 200 suspected armed herdsmen attacked Ayilamo, killing four Mobile Police officers and eight residents and burning houses. Armed herders also killed a police officer and four civilians on the Ayilamo-Audu road. On 15 September, two newly deployed Mobile Police officers escorting a Divisional Police Officer back to Ayilamo were killed in an ambush. Police reported killing four armed suspects in Logo and Ayilamo and paraded 20 suspects.

Kidnapping on the southern routes

Police commandos raided a kidnappers' camp in Amla Forest, Ohimini LGA, and freed eight of 13 bus passengers abducted on 13 September; one victim died of injuries. Operation Whirl Stroke freed seven more hostages in Ohimini. Gunmen abducted 18 Tyomu residents travelling to a burial on the Adoka-Ankpa road and demanded N30 million. Women later blocked the Makurdi-Gboko road in protest.

Convoy blocked on the Gboko-Makurdi Expressway

Thugs blocked a presidential candidate's convoy on the Gboko-Makurdi Expressway, preventing him from visiting victims of attacks. More than 10 people were hospitalised, and one alleged attacker reportedly died.

Okrika pipeline disaster

On 3 September, about 37 suspected oil thieves died after inhaling petroleum fumes while illegally tapping a pipeline at a jetty in Okrika. Several others were missing, and police began an investigation. In Abam-Ama, also in Okrika, a man was electrocuted on 16 September while allegedly trying to vandalise a transformer.

Killings and alleged police abuse

On 2 September, police officers in Port Harcourt allegedly shot a motorist dead at close range after an altercation. His family said he was robbed and left by the roadside. On 19 September, gunmen killed a father of four in Emulation, Abua/Odual LGA. The mutilated body of a woman abducted on 12 September from Ahoada Minta was recovered from a stream in Ogoda, Ahoada West LGA, and two suspects are in police custody. A house fire in Okochiri, Okrika, killed a mother and her children.

Methanol poisoning outbreak

Police and health authorities first investigated 27 suspected poisoning deaths in Odigbo. As the toll rose, the male seller was arrested, and NAFDAC and WHO opened a joint investigation. By 17 September, NAFDAC had confirmed high concentrations of methanol and Cannabis indica in the drinks, which were linked to 48 deaths, seven cases of blindness and 182 illnesses; 15 suspects were arrested. The state government requested a coroner's inquest and is reviewing rules on local production.

Other deaths under police investigation

On 6 September, three siblings, 11-year-old twins and their five-year-old sister, were found dead near a river on a farm by Owena Army Barracks, Akure. A 52-year-old farmer was found dead near Supare, Akoko South-West LGA, and police suspect criminal involvement. In Idanre, two seven-year-old boys were electrocuted when a live high-tension wire fell on a shop on Apefon Road.

Toll of bandit attacks

A joint assessment by the Nigerian Red Cross Society, SEMA and MSF, reported on 4 September, found that recent bandit attacks across several LGAs had killed 73 people, injured 177 and displaced more than 6,000, and that displacement was still spreading. The assessment covers recent attacks rather than September alone, so some of these deaths may predate the month.

Fulani-Kambari clash in Bagudo

On 23 September, ethnic fighting between Fulani and Kambari communities in Lafagu and Buya, Bagudo LGA, killed 16 people, including the local district head. The violence followed retaliatory attacks over the earlier killing of two people.

Bandit and Lakurawa violence

Bandits killed five farmers and abducted others in Wasagu communities, Danko/Wasagu LGA. On the Ayu-Wasagu road, they killed one man and abducted the children travelling with him. On 30 September, three Shanga vigilantes returning from Agwara, Niger State, were reportedly killed and burned near the border. Joint clearance operations in Gumki Forest, Kangiwa LGA, and by Operation FANSAN YAMMA in Arewa Dandi LGA killed Lakurawa fighters and recovered weapons and motorcycles.

Gombi raids

On 6-7 September, suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked Nzangula village, killing 12 people, injuring two, abducting a woman and burning a church, houses and shops. Separate reports describe attacks on Zaranga and Dzangola in Gombi, each with 11 killed and many residents missing. Dzangola and Nzangula may be variant spellings of the same village, so these reports may overlap.

Hong attacks and beating deaths

On 14 September, fighters raided Bitirhuya in Hong LGA, killing four people, looting food and burning houses. Another attack in Hong on 26 September killed three people and injured two. In Kadarbu, Fufore LGA, a 50-year-old man was beaten to death at home, and three suspects were arrested. On 30 September, a tea seller in Nassarawa Quarters, Yola North, was beaten to death in a dispute over a N50 tea payment.