Nigeria’s worsening security crisis reached a new peak in October 2026, with at least 835 people killed in 612 security-related incidents across the country, making it the deadliest month of the year’s campaign season so far.
The figure represents a sharp increase from the 587 fatalities recorded in 535 incidents in September, underscoring the growing lethality of armed violence, banditry, insurgency and other security threats across the country.
This is according to the latest security assessment by SARI Global, which identified escalating armed-group activities, mass-casualty attacks and increasing threats to civilian movement as major features of Nigeria’s deteriorating security landscape.
The report painted a particularly troubling picture of the North-West and North-East, where armed groups are increasingly targeting military formations, rural communities, roads, markets and travellers.
Armed conflict accounted for the largest share of fatalities, recording 617 deaths across 202 incidents. Criminality and law enforcement incidents, meanwhile, accounted for the highest number of events, with 276 incidents and 86 fatalities.
Non-state armed groups were responsible for 480 deaths from 221 incidents, compared with 197 fatalities linked to government-affiliated forces across 218 incidents.
More than a third of the recorded fatalities involved armed-group fighters, including casualties from military operations and failed attacks in Buni Yadi, Birnin Tudu and Bukkuyum.
However, the report highlighted several devastating attacks on civilians, including the killing of at least 62 people in Binnari, Taraba State; 20 in a convoy ambush near Gurusu; 18 loggers at Momo in Borno State; and 17 people, including 12 soldiers, at a mining site in Bindin, Zamfara State.
The North-East emerged as the most dangerous region in terms of state-level fatalities, with Borno recording 180 deaths across 51 incidents.
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The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) reportedly intensified attacks on military positions, targeting bases in Kukawa, Mairari, Hong, Buni Yadi and Bitta.
In the North-West, 155 incidents resulted in 224 deaths across Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states.
Zamfara alone recorded 69 incidents and 137 fatalities, with armed groups using ambushes, road blockades and threats against rural communities to restrict movement and consolidate control.
Katsina also witnessed fresh abductions, including at least 40 farmers reportedly kidnapped in Faskari on October 24.
One of the most disturbing incidents occurred on October 23 in Binnari, Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State, where at least 62 people were killed and 52 injured.
According to the assessment, attackers struck a market during trading activities, a mosque shortly after Friday prayers and a local vigilante office. Some residents fleeing towards the Benue River were pursued into the water, where several drowned.
A further attack occurred on October 27, followed by an assault on travellers along the Ibbi–Zugurma road the next day.
SARI observed that the scale and coordination of the Binnari massacre resembled mass-casualty bandit attacks in the North-West, although the identities of the attackers had not been established.
The report also documented 117 deaths from other hazards, including 25 people killed in an Air Force ATR-42 crash at Igbokoda, Ondo State, and 20 in a road accident along Hawan Kibo road in Plateau State.
Meanwhile, the southern states recorded 179 incidents and 111 fatalities, involving road crashes, cult clashes, communal disputes and security operations.
Political tensions also featured prominently, with protest and civil unrest incidents rising from 28 in September to 66 in October. About 46 incidents were associated with political parties, campaigns or political thugs.
SARI cautioned that its figures represent minimum confirmed fatalities based on available incident reports, meaning the actual death toll could be higher.
The findings add to growing concerns over Nigeria’s security situation, following a United Nations report that at least 1,932 people were killed in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states between April and June 2026, as persistent insecurity continued to disrupt humanitarian operations and aid delivery.