COMMON ANALYSIS
Last update: March 2026
The analysis below is based on the following EUAA COI products: Security 2025, 1.2.1., 1.2.2., 1.2.3., 1.2.4.; COI Update 2026, 1., 2.; Country Guidance should not be referred to as a source of COI.
For information on the different state and non-state actors in Nigeria, see 2. Actors of persecution or serious harm.
Several different armed conflicts take place in the territory of Nigeria:
-
Armed conflict between Islamist groups and the NAF including state-affiliated armed groups: The armed conflict between Boko Haram and state (affiliated) forces extends mainly in the North-East region, mainly in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states and to a lesser extent in Kaduna state (North-West). The North-West region, mainly Zamfara, Kebbi and Sokoto states, is affected by the armed conflict between Lakurawa and state (affiliated) forces. Niger and Kwara (North-Central), as well as Kaduna (North-West) are affected by the armed conflict between Ansaru, Mahmuda and state (affiliated) forces.
-
Armed conflict between JAS and ISWAP as the fighting between these two Boko Haram factions has continued.
-
Armed conflict between armed separatist groups, such as ESN (IPOB’s paramilitary wing) and Nigerian security forces in the South-East region.
-
In some instances, armed conflicts involve communal militias of farmers and herders: The territorial scope of those conflicts includes several states of the North-Central, North-West and South-South regions and to a lesser degree in the South-East region.
-
Conflicts among cults/gangs and with local community vigilantes: Criminal violence such as violence against civilians by criminal gangs or student cults, including in the context of election-related violence, would in general not meet the criteria under the Diakité judgment, as this criminal violence does not involve armed confrontations between two or more armed groups. However, it should be noted that community vigilante groups, civilian self-defence militias, and youth groups have also conducted reprisal attacks against armed groups. Furthermore, on some occasions, armed confrontations between armed cults or gangs have been reported. Additionally, it should be noted that the dynamics of violence in Nigeria involve overlapping actors, making distinctions between farmer–herder clashes, inter- and intra-communal conflicts, and banditry increasingly blurred.
Nigeria is currently affected by multiple overlapping conflicts, in the meaning of Article 15(c) QD/QR. These conflicts affect different areas in Nigeria at different degrees. See more under 4.3.3. Indiscriminate violence.