Nigeria has been ranked sixth in the 2025 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) with a score of 7.658, marking a steep rise from its eighth-place position in the last two years.
This unsettling development highlights the country’s ongoing battle with violent extremism and rising insecurity.
The report, released on Wednesday, paints a grim picture of global terrorism, placing Burkina Faso at the top of the index with a score of 8.581, followed closely by Pakistan (8.374), Syria (8.006), Mali (7.907), and Niger (7.776).
Nigeria’s new position ahead of Somalia (7.614), Israel (7.463), and Afghanistan (7.262) reflects a concerning increase in terrorist activity and fatalities.
The human cost of this surge is devastating. In 2024 alone, Nigeria recorded 565 terrorism-related deaths, a stark rise from 533 in 2023 and a significant increase compared to the 392 fatalities in 2022. These numbers signal a disturbing reversal after years of progress in reducing extremist violence.
“Globally, deaths from terrorism have declined by almost a third since the peak in 2015,” the report notes. “Iraq and Nigeria recorded the largest decreases in earlier years. But while Iraq has maintained its progress, Nigeria has seen a resurgence in violence, with fatalities increasing by 34 percent in 2023 and climbing further in 2024.”
One of the major drivers of this renewed violence is the expansion of IS-Sahel, a deadly extremist group primarily active in the Liptako-Gourma region — the volatile tri-border area between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The group’s footprint has spread into Algeria, Benin, and Nigeria, with Nigeria suffering 16 attacks from IS-Sahel in 2024 alone.
This rising tide of terrorism is not limited to Nigeria. The report reveals that the number of countries affected by at least one terrorist attack rose from 58 to 66 in 2024, the highest level since 2018. This widespread surge suggests a shifting and increasingly unpredictable global threat landscape.
The Sahel region has become the epicenter of global terrorism, accounting for a staggering 51 percent of all terrorism-related deaths worldwide in 2024, nearly ten times the number recorded in 2019. The region’s conflict-related deaths surpassed 25,000 for the first time since the index began, with 3,885 directly attributed to terrorism.
While Burkina Faso remains the most impacted nation, there are signs of shifting dynamics. The country saw a 21 percent drop in terrorism-related deaths and a 57 percent decline in attacks in 2024. Still, it accounted for one-fifth of global terrorism fatalities, maintaining its grim status at the forefront of the crisis.
Niger, however, tells a different story. One of a tragic reversal. Once celebrated for its progress, the nation recorded the largest increase in terrorism-related deaths worldwide in 2024, with fatalities soaring by 94 percent to 930. This alarming spike erases gains made in 2022, highlighting the fragile and often temporary nature of counterterrorism efforts in the region.
Source: Ripples
