Description: Militants pertaining to the numerous bandit organizations in Nigeria have killed more than 50 people during morning prayers at a mosque located in the town of Unguwar Mantau, in Katsina State. Nigeria’s bandit insurgency has stemmed from territorial disputes between herders and farmers which transpired towards armed resistance and morphed into organized crime in collusion with offshoots from terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and the Islamic State. Groups such as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), as well as offshoots such as the Lakurawa network, the Sadiku group and the Shiroro cell are considerably exploiting the bandit insurgency for gaining access to key supply and trade routes in resource – rich regions such as northwestern Nigeria.
Impact: Conflicts between bandits in Nigeria are further catalyzed by their collusion with larger terrorist groups and regional organizations which have established a strong and consistent footprint in the region, controlling key trade routes in resource – rich regions. The fractured and deteriorated state of the Nigerian security and defense apparatus enables the terrorist groups and the bandits to establish a financing network through kidnappings, looting and racketeering which provides these groups with crucial economic opportunities and indicates operational continuity. The porous state of control over Nigeria’s border with Niger, which is also impacted by severe militant and terrorist upsurgence, further fuels instability and enables interoperability through cross – border networks of these terrorist and bandit organizations. Instability in the region would further disintegrate as numerous countries have issues with tackling the sophisticated operations that terrorist and bandit groups are conducting, while state security services are plagued with problems such as corruption and overextension of capacities.