Bulletin 2026-09UCDP data through GED 26.1, Candidate Events 26.0.9Changes in the data

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Events and deaths in organized violence, as UCDP records them

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Nigeria: events and estimated deaths in January 2026

Monthly reportDataset: UCDP Candidate Events, preliminaryData through

UCDP recorded 142 eventsP of organized violence in Nigeria in January 2026. The best estimate of deaths in these events is 719P. The low estimate is 623 and the high estimate is 902P. UCDP counts 157P of these deaths as deaths of civilians. The count for December 2025 was 59 events.

The count for January 2025 was 47 events. The change from January 2025 to January 2026 is up 202 percentP. Among the 26 months with a report for Nigeria, January 2026 has the 6th highest count of events. Nigeria holds 8 percentP of the events that UCDP recorded in all countries with a page in January 2026. In January 2025, the share was 2 percent.

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

Not all events in UCDP Candidate will make it into the final UCDP GED and new events will be added. The UCDP Candidate is a dataset containing events that have a high probability of being included in the final annual version of UCDP GED.

An incident where armed force was used by an organized actor against another organized actor, or against civilians, resulting in at least 1 direct death at a specific location and a specific date

UCDP's words. Source: UCDP Candidate Events Dataset Codebook, version 1.5 (Introduction) and UCDP GED Codebook, version 26.1 (section 2, the definition of an event), copied on .

This page rests on UCDP GED 26.1 and UCDP Candidate Events 26.0.9, with data through . The figures from January 2026 are from Candidate Events. Candidate Events are preliminary and UCDP revises them.

The pages give counts and their sources. They give no travel, security or safety advice. A count of events is not a measure of danger.

Regions

The table has 10 regions at most.

Table 1. Nigeria, January 2026: events and estimated deaths by region, in name order
RegionEventsPEstimated deathsP
Benue state2350
Borno state48368
Katsina state58
Lagos state44
Niger state972
Plateau state1342
Sokoto state739
Taraba state312
Yobe state521
Zamfara state545

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

Figure 1. Events in Nigeria, January 2026. The map shows 142 events with 719 estimated deaths. One dot is one event at the place that UCDP gives. When a source names no exact place, UCDP puts the event at the centre of a region or of the country. The area of a dot follows the best estimate of deaths. The largest dot is for 330 deaths or more.1 death10 deaths100 deathsOutlines: Natural Earth, with the first-level areas of the UCDP data. An outline shows where the events are. It is not a statement about a border.

Events

The table lists the events with 10 or more estimated deaths. The CSV file of Nigeria has each event.

Table 2. Nigeria, January 2026: events with 10 or more estimated deaths (21 of 142 events), in the order of their dates
DatePlaceSides, as UCDP writes themType of violenceEstimated deathsPLowHigh
2 Jan 2026Gwoza lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; JASState-based191919
2 Jan 2026Sabon Birni lga, Sokoto stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based202020
3 Jan 2026Agwara lga, Niger stateJAS; CiviliansOne-sided574257
3 Jan 2026Adamawa stateIS; JASNon-state242424
4 Jan 2026Gwoza lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; JASState-based181818
6 Jan 2026Borno stateIS; JASNon-state121212
8 Jan 2026Kukawa lga, Borno stateIS; JASNon-state101010
10 Jan 2026Donga lga, Taraba stateFarmers (Nigeria); Herders (Nigeria)Non-state101010
13 Jan 2026Yobe stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based111111
15 Jan 2026Monguno lga, Borno stateActor not identified by UCDP; Actor not identified by UCDPState-based40240
19 Jan 2026Borno stateActor not identified by UCDP; Actor not identified by UCDPState-based242424
20 Jan 2026Damboa lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based282828
20 Jan 2026Abadam lga, Borno stateIS; JASNon-state242424
22 Jan 2026Gwoza lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; JASState-based15015
24 Jan 2026Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based222222
28 Jan 2026Biu lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based111114
29 Jan 2026Damboa lga, Borno stateIS; CiviliansOne-sided232330
30 Jan 2026Biu lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based212121
31 Jan 2026Maru lga, Zamfara stateActor not identified by UCDP; Actor not identified by UCDPState-based222222
31 Jan 2026Konduga lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based111111
31 Jan 2026Guzamala lga, Borno stateIS; CiviliansOne-sided12412

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

Names are as UCDP writes them, with two labels that the site writes. UCDP does not identify some actors: the site writes "Actor not identified by UCDP" for each of them. UCDP names some groups for a person: the site writes "Group named for a person (name not shown)" for each of them. A line with a label can hold more than one actor.

Actors, as UCDP names them

Names as UCDP writes them.

Table 3. Nigeria: actors, as UCDP names them, in the events of January 2026, in name order
Name, as UCDP writes itEventsEstimated deaths in these events
Actor not identified by UCDP62P232P
Amasiri, Nde Ndukwe1P4P
Birom5P15P
Black Axe5P7P
Buccaneers1P1P
Bwatiye1P3P
Eyie8P12P
Farmers (Nigeria)2P11P
Fulani8P24P
Government of Nigeria41P247P
Group named for a person (name not shown)2P9P
Herders (Nigeria)2P11P
Idoma1P4P
IPOB1P2P
IS48P304P
JAS10P185P
Karimjo1P1P
Oso-Edda1P4P
SVC4P6P
Tiv2P5P
Tsobo1P3P
Wurukum1P1P

An event has two sides, so one event can be in two rows. The deaths are the deaths in the events of a side. The table does not say which side caused a death. Names are as UCDP writes them, with two labels that the site writes. UCDP does not identify some actors: the site writes "Actor not identified by UCDP" for each of them. UCDP names some groups for a person: the site writes "Group named for a person (name not shown)" for each of them. A line with a label can hold more than one actor.

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

Type of violence

Table 4. Nigeria: events by type of violence, January 2026
Type of violenceEventsShare of events
State-based armed conflict62P44%
Non-state conflict49P35%
One-sided violence against civilians31P22%

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

The glossary has the UCDP definition of each type.

All months

Table 5. Monthly reports of Nigeria, newest first: events and estimated deaths
MonthEventsEstimated deathsDataset
September 2026143P451PCandidate Events
August 2026161P992PCandidate Events
July 2026116P551PCandidate Events
June 2026166P614PCandidate Events
May 2026145P1,010PCandidate Events
April 2026182P1,034PCandidate Events
March 2026113P698PCandidate Events
February 2026108P712PCandidate Events
January 2026142P719PCandidate Events
December 202559358GED
November 202544340GED
October 202551255GED
September 202569336GED
August 202569262GED
July 202567222GED
June 202568469GED
May 202585648GED
April 202568401GED
March 202559248GED
February 202546191GED
January 202547428GED
December 202427182GED
November 202457255GED
October 202452330GED
September 202439235GED
August 202430408GED

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events. Search engines list a report of a month in the last 12 months that has 20 or more events. The other reports stay online and ask search engines not to list them.

Nigeria: all figures

Cite this page

ConflictStats. Nigeria: events and estimated deaths in January 2026. https://conflictstats.com/country/nigeria/month/2026-01/. Source: Uppsala Conflict Data Program, UCDP GED 26.1 and UCDP Candidate Events 26.0.9. Data through .

The address of this page does not change. UCDP asks for a citation of its publications: Data sources and licences has it.