2.1.6. Niger

2.1.6. Niger

Niger state is comprised of the following 25 LGAs: Agaie, Agwara, Bida, Borgu, Bosso, Chanchaga, Edati, Gbako, Gurara, Katcha, Kontagora, Lapai, Lavun, Magama, Mariga, Mashegu, Mokwa, Munya, Paikoro, Rafi, Rijau, Shiroro, Suleja, Tafa, Wushishi. The capital city is Minna.516

The main ethnic groups are Nupe, Gbagyi and Hausa. Other groups include Kadara, Koro, Barab, Kakanda, GanaGana, Dibo, Kambari, Kamuku, Pangu, Dukawa, Gwada and Ingwai, Igbo, Yoruba.517

UNFPA and the US Census Bureau projected the population at 6 783 325 in 2022, based on figures from the 2006 census.518

a) Conflict dynamics and main actors

For a general overview on actors in Nigeria, please see section 1.1 Main Actors.

According to a June 2025 article, the Mahmuda group had ‘seized control’ of communities in in Borgu LGA.519 Clashes between troops and Mahmuda were reported in March520 and May521 2025. For general information on Mahmuda, please see section 2.1.4 Kwara.

A July 2025 report published by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) mentions a Boko Haram cell in Shiroro LGA that launched attacks on security forces and civilians in Shiroro, Munya and Rafi LGAs from camps in Kugu and Dogon Fili522 in the Alawa forest reserve.523 Attacks by suspected Boko Haram members were reported in June,524 September,525 and December 2024526 in Shiroro LGA. In February 2024, women were abducted by Boko Haram in Rafi and Shiroro LGAs. In July 2025, some of the women were rescued by police.527

During the reference period, airstrikes by the Nigerian Air Force against ‘terrorists’ or bandits under Operation Fansan Yamma528 were reported.529 Clashes between the military and bandits/ armed groups were also reported.530

Attacks by bandits were reported for example in March531 and May 2024532 and January 2025.533 Abductions of inhabitants by bandits were also reported.534

Persons were killed by bomb explosions for example in December 2024535 and March 2025.536

b) Security incidents and impact on the population

In the period between 1 January 2024 and 31 August 2025, ACLED recorded 258 security incidents in Niger state, which resulted in 859 fatalities. Of these security incidents, 69 were coded as battles, 27 as explosions/remote violence, 25 as riots and 137 as incidents of violence against civilians.537

Security incidents were recorded by ACLED in 22 LGAs of the state, with the highest numbers documented in Shiroro (67 incidents), Mariga and Rafi (30 incidents each) LGAs. No incidents were recorded in three LGAs. According to ACLED, Niger communal militias and unidentified armed groups (coded as either ‘Actor1’ or ‘Actor2’) were involved in the majority of incidents coded as violence against civilians.539

In November 2024, bandits reportedly killed at least 10 people in two communities in Rafi LGA. Six of the victims were beheaded.540 In June 2025, more than 20541 soldiers were killed by armed groups, as troops ‘successfully thwarted an attempted incursion by terrorists into Bangi Community, in Mariga Local Council of Niger’.542

Conflict-related infrastructure damage - Bandits reportedly burnt houses and shops in March 2024543 and houses and farms in November 2024544 in Rafi LGA. In October 2024, attacks by bandits on the Shiroro-Kaduna power lines were reported.545

Road security - No information could be found during the reference period.

Displacement, movement and return - As of February 2025, IOM estimated the number of IDPs in Niger state at 47 215546 compared to 42 486 as of November 2024.547 IOM lists armed banditry/kidnapping (61 %) and insurgency (38 %) as the main reasons for displacement in the state,548 while the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in October 2024 attributed 100 % of displacements in Niger state to criminal group activity.549

No information could be found on returns in Niger state during the reference period.

c) State response in maintaining law and order

In April 2024, the state government said security in Madaka in Rafi LGA had been reinforced ‘to prevent further attacks on the community.’550 Also in April 2024, the Nigerian military withdrew troops from areas affected by bandit attacks ‘for tactical reasons’, as the forces ‘suffered human and equipment casualties’.551 In October 2024, bandits reportedly took over a military training camp. The military camp covered a vast area between Kontagora and Mariga LGAs.552 In November 2024, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) ordered the reorganisation of two former operations encompassing several states, one of which covered Niger, into a Joint Task Force for the Northwest, named Operation Fansan Yamma.553

In May 2025, the Emir of Kagara commended security agencies for the ‘improved security situation’ in Kagara in Rafi LGA and their prompt response that curtailed bandit activities,554 while in June 2025, members of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), an organisation advocating for the well-being of northern Nigeria,555 described the killing of more than 20 soldiers in a June 2025 attack in Mariga LGA ‘as further evidence of a total collapse of security in Northern Nigeria’.556 Between 24 and 26 June 2025, the Nigerian Air Force launched airstrikes ‘targeting terrorist elements behind recent attacks and cattle rustling’.557

In April 2025, HumAngle noted that ‘a significant portion of the Lapkma axis in Shiroro is ungoverned’ and Allawa and Bassa communities in Shiroro LGA were ‘characterised by a lack of effective governance control and security architectures’.558 In June 2025, HumAngle reported that Shiroro, Mashegu, and Borgu LGAs were ‘steadily slipping from state and federal control.’559