Islamist militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are rapidly turning the once-remote borderlands of Niger, Benin and Nigeria into a deadly conflict corridor, a new report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project has found.
The crisis monitor said violent incidents involving jihadist groups in the tri-border region rose by nearly 90 per cent between 2024 and 2025, while fatalities surged by more than 260 per cent, exceeding 1,000 as attacks intensified across rural communities.
The report describes a widening and increasingly lethal insurgency, warning that extremist factions are entrenching themselves and expanding operations beyond traditional strongholds. Areas affected include Benin’s Alibori and Borgou departments, Niger’s Dosso region, and Nigeria’s Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger and Kwara states.
Once largely confined to Nigeria’s northeast, militants are now exploiting porous borders, vast forests and limited state presence across the northwest and into coastal West Africa. Nigeria has battled insurgents such as Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province, for more than 15 years, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
Across the wider Sahel and coastal West Africa, jihadist factions operate under umbrellas such as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), aligned with al Qaeda, and the Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP). In Niger, both groups have expanded operations, including near the capital, Niamey, while Benin has recorded some of its deadliest cross-border raids to date.
In northwestern Nigeria, rising militant activity has coincided with recent United States airstrikes targeting ISSP fighters, alongside violence involving multiple armed groups.
ACLED also noted that jihadist factions have stepped up public claims of responsibility for attacks in the tri-border zone, suggesting growing competition among rival groups — a trend analysts warn could drive further escalation as factions seek to assert dominance.