Jihadist influence continue t steadily mount in northwest of Nigeria. Security experts warns that Nigerian jihadists increased activities in that region is multiplying threat across the Sahel region.
Northwestern Nigeria over the recent years has seen jihadists activities rise. Insecurity involving clashes between rival communities over land, attacks by heavily-armed criminal gangs and reprisal killings by vigilante groups have been on a record high. The spillage has affected a number of West African countries (Sahel).
The spike of jihadist activity in northwest Nigeria has seen security deteriorate steadily. Attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram insurgents are reported almost daily. The result has seen an estimated 8,000 people dead since 2011 and displaced over 200,000 according to Brussels-based research group.
Nigeria has suffered from a 10-year conflict with fighters from the Boko Haram insurgency and its splinter factions in the northeast of the country that has left over 36,000 people dead.
The insurgency has been worsened following the entry of two Boko Haram offshoots which are making inroads into the region.
One of the offshoots is an Al-Qaeda aligned outfit known as Ansaru that broke off from the main Boko Haram group in 2012 has widely been seen as dormant after being dismantled by Nigerian security forces.
The second splinter is the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which has become a dominant force in the northeast of Nigeria after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2016.
Terror outfits; Boko Haram, ISCAP and Ansaru now are competing for influence in northwest region, claiming attacks almost on daily basis, an indicative of growing menace.
Jihadist activity has spilled from Nigeria to Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali citing volatile and poorly manned international boundaries.
The Nigerian forces have launched repeated military operations and local peace talks to try to curb the violence in the northwest but despite these efforts, jihadists influence and activity continue to rise, attacks escalating and threatening peace and stability of Nigeria and broader Sahel region.
