{"id":30686,"date":"2021-09-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/reports\/security-in-nigeria-violence-by-non-state-actors-5416\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:36:40","slug":"security-in-nigeria-violence-by-non-state-actors-5416","status":"publish","type":"reports","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/reports\/security-in-nigeria-violence-by-non-state-actors-5416\/","title":{"rendered":"Security In Nigeria: Violence by Non-State Actors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5cf0fc0cf4300684567e946d993ae011.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite an electoral victory in 2015 bolstered by President Muhammadu Buhari\u2019s military credentials and stated aim of defeating the Boko Haram terrorist insurgency, his administration has overseen a relentless decline in security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Resurgent terrorist factions, which are now amalgamated, continue to launch deadly attacks in the northeast. In the northwest attacks by diverse armed gangs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecable.ng\/masari-bandits-arent-aliens-majority-of-them-are-fulani\/amp\" target=\"_blank\">primarily<\/a>of Fulani ethnicity terrorise predominantly Hausa Muslim farming communities. Attacks perpetrated by assailants alternatively termed armed Fulani herders, Fulani militants or Fulani militia are reported regularly from central states, particularly Benue, Kaduna and Plateau. These attacks are now occurring in southern Nigeria with increased frequency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a long history of disputes between nomadic herders and farming communities across the Sahel, occasioned by competition for land and water, and exacerbated by desertification and other factors. However, the asymmetry of current attacks in terms of frequency, organisation and weaponry mean these attacks now appear to constitute a campaign of ethno-religious cleansing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CSW highlighted Nigeria\u2019s critical security vacuum in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/2020\/06\/15\/report\/4689\/article.htm\" target=\"_blank\">2020 report<\/a>, having <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/2020\/01\/30\/press\/4542\/article.htm\" target=\"_blank\">warned earlier<\/a> that \u201cthis pivotal West African nation [was] close to failing.\u201d; and in December warned again of the urgent need \u201cto ensure protection for Nigeria\u2019s besieged citizens, and to avert the nation\u2019s descent into failed statehood.\u201d However, by May 2021, seasoned observers were <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2021\/05\/27\/nigeria-is-a-failed-state\/\" target=\"_blank\">concluding<\/a>that Nigeria\u2019s inability to \u201cprovide peace and stability\u201d for its citizens had converted what was a \u201cweak state\u201d into a failed one. \u201cNigeria has become a fully failed state of critical geopolitical concern. Its failure matters because the peace and prosperity of Africa and preventing the spread of disorder and militancy around the globe depend on a stronger Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nigeria-september-2021.pdf\">Click here to download the full briefing as a PDF<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite an electoral victory in 2015 bolstered by President Muhammadu Buharis military credentials, his administration has overseen a relentless decline in security<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44681,"template":"","categories":[],"regions":[156,152],"class_list":["post-30686","reports","type-reports","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","regions-nigeria","regions-sub-saharan-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reports\/30686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reports"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reports"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reports\/30686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36749,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reports\/30686\/revisions\/36749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30686"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=30686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}