Nigeria has moved up to sixth place in the 2025 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), marking a troubling rise in its ranking after holding the eighth position for the past two years. The latest GTI report, released on March 5, 2025, underscores the worsening security situation in the country, with 565 terrorism-related deaths recorded in 2024—a stark increase that signals a disturbing trend.
According to the report, Burkina Faso remains the most terrorism-affected country, leading the index with a GTI score of 8.581. It is followed by Pakistan (8.374), Syria (8.006), Mali (7.907), and Niger (7.776). Nigeria, with a GTI score of 7.658, now ranks just ahead of Somalia (7.614), Israel (7.463), Afghanistan (7.262), and Cameroon (6.944) in the top ten most terrorism-impacted nations.
Surge in Terrorism-Related Deaths
The report paints a grim picture of Nigeria’s security landscape. While the country once saw a sharp decline in terrorism fatalities from a peak of 2,101 deaths in 2014 to just 392 in 2022, the trend has now reversed. In 2023, the number of deaths jumped to 533, and in 2024, the toll further rose to 565, marking a 34% increase in just two years.
One of the key drivers of this violence is IS-Sahel, an expanding terror group active across the Liptako-Gourma region, which spans Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The group has extended its operations into Algeria, Benin, and Nigeria, executing 16 attacks in Nigeria in 2024, compared to 12 in Niger, six in Mali, and one in Burkina Faso.
The GTI report warns that terrorism remains a persistent and evolving global threat, with the number of countries affected by at least one terrorist attack rising from 58 in 2023 to 66 in 2024—the highest level since 2018.
Security conditions worsened in more countries than improved for the first time in seven years. Forty-five nations saw an increased impact of terrorism, compared to just 34 that reported improvements.
The Sahel region has become the global epicenter of terrorism, accounting for a staggering 51% of all terrorism-related deaths in 2024—a nearly tenfold increase since 2019. The region recorded over 25,000 conflict-related deaths for the first time in the index’s history, with 3,885 directly linked to terrorism.
Despite remaining the most terrorism-affected country, Burkina Faso saw a 57% decline in attacks and a 21% drop in fatalities in 2024. However, it still accounted for one-fifth of all terrorism-related deaths worldwide.
Conversely, Niger experienced the largest spike in terrorism-related deaths globally, with fatalities surging by 94% to 930 in 2024. This sharp reversal highlights the fragile nature of counterterrorism gains, raising concerns about the long-term stability of the region.
As Nigeria climbs the global terrorism rankings, the report emphasizes the urgent need for renewed and strategic counterterrorism efforts to stem the growing fatalities and prevent further security deterioration. The resurgence of terror activities underscores the complex and evolving nature of Nigeria’s insurgency crisis, necessitating stronger regional cooperation, intelligence-sharing, and proactive military responses.
With terrorism once again on the rise, the fate of Nigeria’s internal security and regional stability hangs in the balance. The challenge now lies in whether the government and security forces can reverse this deadly trend before it spirals further out of control.
PIONEER NEWS 