ABUJA — A major investigative report by Vanguard has exposed a disturbing trend: a network of armed bandit, terrorist, and jihadist groups has carved out strongholds across nine Nigerian states, turning vast swathes of the country into zones of near-permanent insecurity.
According to the report, the affected states Sokoto State, Kwara State, Kebbi State, Katsina State, Kano State, Kaduna State, Zamfara State, Kogi State, and Niger State — have become hotspots where local bandits, foreign jihadist affiliates, and herder-criminal coalitions operate with increasing sophistication.
The groups variously identified as local “bandits,” splinter jihadist cells, herdsmen militias, and foreign fighters fleeing instability in the Sahel reportedly rotate among forest hideouts, remote border zones, and illegal mining sites, making security operations a daunting challenge. In some states, the report says, these groups have established semi-permanent camps used to plan raids, rustle cattle, abduct villagers, and carry out ransom kidnappings.
In Kaduna State, for instance, the crisis is described as a mix of criminal gangs focused on ransom kidnappings and extremist cells reportedly linked to jihadi networks that enforce their own social rules in forested enclaves, recruit local youths, and target vulnerable communities, mining areas, and trading posts. Meanwhile, in Kwara State and Kebbi State, armed groups described as a splinter of Mahmuda, as well as cross-border bandits and herders, are said to move with ease across porous borders and dense forests, abducting residents and rustling livestock.
The implications for communities are grim: rampant kidnapping, extortion, forced levies on farmers before harvest, mass displacement, school closures, and widespread fear. The report warns that these enclaves aren’t just temporary hideouts they are becoming de facto “parallel states,” where criminals enforce their own authority, often with brutal impunity.
Security experts cited by the Vanguard investigation argue that the problem cannot be resolved with ad hoc raids alone. They call for a comprehensive national strategy combining sustained intelligence-driven operations, community-based security collaboration, socio-economic development, and programs to disarm, rehabilitate, and reintegrate former militants.
With the “stronghold belt” now spanning much of the North-West and North-Central — and encompassing both farmland, mining zones, and transit corridors — stability in Nigeria appears increasingly fragile. Dalena Reporters will continue to monitor developments, civilian displacement, security operations and government responses as the situation unfolds.