In early February 2026, coordinated attacks in parts of Kwara and Katsina reportedly left more than 170 people dead within days. These incidents were not aberrations. They fit a longer pattern in which organised violence has moved steadily from Nigeria’s traditional conflict theatres into regions once assumed to be insulated from insurgency and large-scale criminality. What is unfolding is not merely geographic expansion but the institutionalisation of insecurity as a systemic national risk.
In early February 2026, coordinated attacks in parts of Kwara and Katsina reportedly left more than 170 people dead within days. These incidents were not aberrations. They fit a longer pattern in which organised violence has moved steadily from Nigeria’s traditional conflict theatres into regions once assumed to be insulated from insurgency and large-scale criminality. What is unfolding is not merely geographic expansion but the institutionalisation of insecurity as a systemic national risk.
