Nigeria in January 2026: the most important developments in security
Nigeria's security situation in January 2026 included closer military cooperation with the United States. The US sent military supplies to Nigeria to boost security cooperation, and by month end the US military was assessing the effectiveness of a recent strike it had conducted in Nigeria. Nigeria's defence chief said President Bola Tinubu's visit to Turkey demonstrates resolve on security issues.
Mass abductions continued in the northwest and centre of the country. On 4 January gunmen killed at least 30 people and abducted scores, including children, in an attack on a village and market in Niger State, and Tinubu ordered security agencies to hunt down the perpetrators. On 18 January gunmen abducted dozens of worshippers from three churches in Kaduna State during Sunday services; a church leader said more than 160 people were seized, and no group immediately claimed responsibility. A village head later reported that 177 abducted worshippers and their captors were sighted in transit. Dozens of hostages were rescued by 22 January, according to security sources.
In the northeast, the military said troops neutralised scores of Boko Haram fighters in Borno State, with others surrendering, and that airstrikes killed scores of militants. Troops cleared camps in the Timbuktu Triangle, described as a stronghold of Boko Haram and ISWAP, and reportedly advanced further into it. On 29 January an ISWAP attack on a military patrol in Borno killed dozens, including soldiers and a major.
Elsewhere, Kano Governor Abba Yusuf asked police to arrest the killers of a woman and her six children, and one person was killed in a clash between rival gangs in Kano. Authorities in Nigeria arrested 22 Indian crew members from a ship after seizing 31.5 kilograms of cocaine. In Lagos, authorities warned residents scooping fuel from a fallen tanker, and the police commissioner said no shots were fired at protesters demonstrating against a demolition. Ogun State authorities halted the process to fill the Awujale stool, and police entered the palace amid a succession dispute.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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