Nigeria records 835 security-related deaths in October, highest in 2026 – Report

Nigeria recorded at least 835 security-related deaths in October 2026, the highest monthly toll of the 2026 campaign season so far, according to SARI Global’s latest security assessment.

The report documented 612 security-related incidents during the month, up from 535 incidents and 587 fatalities in September.

It attributed the rise in fatalities to armed conflict, mass-casualty attacks, banditry and other security-related events across the country.

The assessment identified three major trends: increased lethality, expanding armed-group activity and growing threats to civilian movement, particularly in the North-West and North-East.

Armed groups drive October fatalities

Armed conflict accounted for the largest share of deaths, with 617 fatalities recorded across 202 incidents. Criminality and law enforcement incidents, however, represented the highest volume of events, with 276 incidents and 86 fatalities.

• “October 2026 was the most lethal month of the campaign season so far, with 612 incidents and at least 835 fatalities, up from 535 incidents and 587 fatalities in September,” the report noted.

The report highlighted the following figures and incidents:

• Non-state armed actors initiated 221 incidents, compared with 218 attributed to government-affiliated forces. They were also responsible for 480 fatalities, against 197 linked to government-affiliated forces.
• More than a third of recorded deaths were armed-group fighters, including casualties from military operations and failed attacks in Buni Yadi, Birnin Tudu and Bukkuyum.
• Civilian deaths were concentrated in major attacks, including the killing of at least 62 people in Binnari, Taraba; 20 people in a convoy ambush near Gurusu; 18 loggers at Momo in Borno; and 17 people, including 12 soldiers, at a mining site in Bindin, Zamfara.
• Hazards accounted for 117 deaths, including 25 people killed in an Air Force ATR-42 crash at Igbokoda, Ondo State, and 20 deaths in a road crash on the Hawan Kibo road in Plateau State.

Fatalities occurred in two major waves. The first week recorded 234 deaths, while the fourth week accounted for 252. The final three days of October added another 117 fatalities, largely from attacks in Buni Yadi and Bukkuyum.

SARI noted that the figures represent minimum confirmed death counts drawn from incident reporting and should therefore be treated as a floor rather than a complete estimate.

North-West faces expanding banditry

The North-West recorded 155 incidents and 224 fatalities across Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi, with armed groups increasingly targeting roads, convoys, markets and rural communities.

• Zamfara recorded 69 incidents and 137 fatalities, with bandits using road blockades, ambushes and threats to restrict movement and exert control over communities.
• In Katsina, at least 40 farmers were abducted in Faskari on October 24, while attacks and kidnappings also affected several major roads.

The North-East recorded the highest state-level death toll, with Borno accounting for 180 fatalities across 51 incidents. ISWAP concentrated its operations on military positions, attacking bases in Kukawa, Mairari, Hong, Buni Yadi and Bitta.

Binnari attack raises Taraba security concerns

The October 23 attack on Binnari in Karim Lamido Local Government Area, Taraba State, marked a major escalation in the state’s security situation. At least 62 people were killed and 52 injured, according to the emergency management agency.

• The attackers struck the market on market day, a mosque shortly after Friday prayers and the local vigilante office. Residents fleeing towards the Benue River were pursued into the water, where many drowned. A further attack on the community followed on October 27, while kidnappers targeted travellers on the Ibbi–Zugurma road the next day.
• SARI said the scale and coordination of the assault resembled mass-casualty bandit attacks in the North-West, rather than the communal violence more commonly associated with Taraba. The identity of the attackers, however, had not been established in the assessment.

The report also highlighted the killing of cleric Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka and an associate in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, on October 26. Ansaru claimed responsibility in a video, citing his advocacy for interfaith coexistence, while his followers pointed to a longstanding dispute with the Izala movement.

Elsewhere, the southern states recorded 179 incidents and 111 fatalities, with road crashes, cult clashes, communal disputes and security operations accounting for much of the activity. Political and campaign-related tensions also increased, with protest and civil unrest incidents rising to 66 from 28 in September. About 46 incidents were linked to political parties, campaigns or political thugs.

The latest assessment follows an earlier UN report that at least 1,932 people were killed across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states between April and June 2026, as insecurity, attacks on humanitarian personnel, bureaucratic restrictions and harsh weather conditions continued to hamper aid operations in the North-East.