Nigeria — Boko Haram / ISWAP Insurgency

Toddlers among more than 50 schoolchildren kidnapped in Nigeria

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have devastated Mussa town in Borno state. [Leadership] The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, has declared Monday, May 18, 2026, as the first day of Dhul Hijjah 1447 After Hijrah (AH), following the sighting of the crescent moon. [This Day] Nigeria's creative industries have captured global attention, but beneath the success lies a persistent gap in technical capacity and local production infrastructure. With the launch of the

WOR is monitoring the Nigeria conflict across all monitored international sources. Severity scoring updates every 5 minutes as new reporting arrives. For full background on this conflict, see the conflict profile below.

CONFLICT BACKGROUND

The Lake Chad Basin insurgency involves two jihadist groups: Boko Haram (JASDJ) and its more powerful splinter Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). ISWAP controls significant rural territory in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, conducting near-daily attacks on military bases, civilian villages, and humanitarian convoys. The Nigerian military has achieved tactical gains but cannot hold cleared territory. The conflict has spilled into Niger, Chad, and Cameroon through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). Nigeria simultaneously faces a separate but overlapping farmer-herder conflict in the Middle Belt killing 1,500+/year and a low-grade separatist insurgency (IPOB) in the southeast.

ACTIVE PARTIES

• Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)
• Boko Haram (JASDJ — fragmented)
• Nigerian Armed Forces
• Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF)
• Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF — Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Benin)

COUNTRY IMPACT

RECENT DISPATCHES