Executive Summary: The faction of Boko Haram once led by Abubakar Shekau is under the leadership of a commander named Bakura Doro, who has managed to win territory from rival jihadist group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), which is generally understood to be... MORE

Executive Summary Islamic State’s (IS) spokesman hailed the group’s African “provinces” for their sustained expansion. IS has been able to continue to opportunistically consolidate its presence in Africa while global attention is concentrated elsewhere. While IS has focused on the Israel–Hamas conflict to some extent,... MORE

Executive Summary Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) aims to break its ongoing stalemate with Nigerian forces by deploying suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs). This represents the first time in five years that ISWAP has used SVBIEDs, with at least four bombings occurring... MORE

Executive Summary: A flood of foreign fighters to IS provinces in Africa is unlikely, but East Africa is more primed than West Africa to see an inflow of jihadists from around the world due to cultural differences and the harsh environment of the Sahel. After... MORE

Executive Summary Nigeria struggles to provide security to its population, though efforts like the use of artificial intelligence to track militant movement patterns may aid the government in the future. On March 7, bandits in Nigeria's Kaduna State abducted an estimated 280 students from a... MORE

Executive Summary While Boko Haram is the most widely known security threat in Nigeria, the total number of deaths connected to violent banditry in northwestern Nigeria now rivals those caused by Boko Haram at its violent "peak" in 2015. Banditry is traditionally thought of as... MORE

Executive Summary Boko Haram and its ISWAP faction have been locked in a stalemate with the Nigerian military. The group may only seek to preserve the status quo rather than risk provoking a major army offensive. The stalemate has persisted since 2014. ISWAP briefly expanded... MORE

On December 4, Niger announced the “strengthening of military cooperation” with Russia, the latest in a series of shifts toward the Russian sphere of influence by post-coup Sahelian states on the basis of counter-terrorism (Africa News, December 4). The announcement came after a Russian delegation... MORE

On July 30, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja and convened an extra-ordinary summit to address the July military coup in Niger. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu. During the... MORE

On August 16, one of northwestern Nigeria’s most notorious bandits, Dogo Gide, released a video in which he claimed his fighters were responsible for downing a Nigerian air force helicopter in Shiroro, Kaduna State; this attack killed 20 soldiers and three senior military officers (premiumtimesng.com,... MORE