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 March 2026

Monthly reportDataset: UCDP Candidate Events, preliminaryData through

UCDP recorded 113 eventsP of organized violence in Nigeria in March 2026. The best estimate of deaths in these events is 698P. The low estimate is 586 and the high estimate is 854P. UCDP counts 176P of these deaths as deaths of civilians. The count for February 2026 was 108 eventsP.

The count for March 2025 was 59 events. The change from March 2025 to March 2026 is up 92 percentP. Among the 26 months with a report for Nigeria, March 2026 has the 8th highest count of events. Nigeria holds 6 percentP of the events that UCDP recorded in all countries with a page in March 2026. In March 2025, the share was 3 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, March 2026: events and estimated deaths by region, in name order
RegionEventsPEstimated deathsP
Benue state1447
Borno state40476
Katsina state44
Kebbi state721
Kogi state44
Kwara state69
Lagos state711
Plateau state439
Sokoto state715
Zamfara state57

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

Figure 1. Events in Nigeria, March 2026. The map shows 113 events with 698 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, March 2026: events with 10 or more estimated deaths (17 of 113 events), in the order of their dates
DatePlaceSides, as UCDP writes themType of violenceEstimated deathsPLowHigh
1 Mar 2026Bama lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based101011
3 Mar 2026Gwoza lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; JASState-based50050
3 Mar 2026Gwoza lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; JASState-based4018100
5 Mar 2026Kwande lga, Benue stateFulani; TivNon-state121219
6 Mar 2026Bama lga, Borno stateActor not identified by UCDP; CiviliansOne-sided20022
9 Mar 2026Gujba lga, Yobe stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based242424
11 Mar 2026Borno stateActor not identified by UCDP; Actor not identified by UCDPState-based404040
13 Mar 2026Apa lga, Benue stateActor not identified by UCDP; Actor not identified by UCDPNon-state151515
16 Mar 2026Maiduguri lga, Borno stateJAS; CiviliansOne-sided262330
18 Mar 2026Abadam lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based747480
20 Mar 2026Gwoza lga, Borno stateActor not identified by UCDP; Actor not identified by UCDPState-based404040
24 Mar 2026Shanga lga, Kebbi stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based111113
28 Mar 2026Biu lga, Borno stateGovernment of Nigeria; ISState-based383838
28 Mar 2026Gwoza lga, Borno stateActor not identified by UCDP; Actor not identified by UCDPState-based131313
29 Mar 2026Jos North lga, Plateau stateActor not identified by UCDP; Actor not identified by UCDPNon-state333333
30 Mar 2026Chibok lga, Borno stateIS; CiviliansOne-sided222222
31 Mar 2026Mafa lga, Borno stateIS; CiviliansOne-sided272727

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 March 2026, in name order
Name, as UCDP writes itEventsEstimated deaths in these events
Actor not identified by UCDP53P261P
Agatu1P1P
Black Axe6P10P
Buccaneers1P1P
Buccaneers, SVC1P1P
Bwatiye1P6P
Eyie8P12P
Farmers (Nigeria)1P1P
Fulani7P22P
Government of Nigeria36P315P
Group named for a person (name not shown)1P1P
Hausa1P3P
Herders (Nigeria)1P1P
Igala1P1P
IPOB1P1P
IS30P266P
JAS7P124P
SVC2P2P
Tiv4P17P
Tsobo1P6P

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, March 2026
Type of violenceEventsShare of events
State-based armed conflict62P55%
Non-state conflict31P27%
One-sided violence against civilians20P18%

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 March 2026. https://conflictstats.com/country/nigeria/month/2026-03/. 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.