Nigeria: 12,954 violent deaths recorded in 2025 alone – Report

According to the 15th Report on Violence in Nigeria by Nigeria Watch, the country recorded 12,954 violent deaths in 2025—an increase from 2024—with criminal activity, insurgency, and banditry identifying as the chief drivers, particularly in Borno and Niger states.

Nigeria recorded a worrying escalation in fatal insecurity in 2025, losing 12,954 citizens to various violent incidents across the federation. According to the newly published 15th Report on Violence in Nigeria, compiled by lead researcher Dr. Vitus Nwankwo Ukoji and supported by Dr. Abiola Victoria Ayodokun of the data-monitoring organization Nigeria Watch, this figure represents a noticeable surge from the 12,162 fatalities documented nationwide during the 2024 calendar year. The extensive longitudinal data tracking reveals that between 2006 and 2025, a staggering total of 222,137 people have been killed in 46,182 recorded violent incidents spanning all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The detailed executive summary from the research organization identified a combination of deep-seated security challenges—including Islamic insurgency, rural banditry, kidnapping, armed herder-farmer clashes, and state counter-operations conducted by government security agencies—as the primary drivers of mortality. Statistically, localized criminal violence emerged as the single most lethal threat to public safety, single-handedly accounting for 47 percent of all documented deaths during the year. Meanwhile, ideological frictions linked directly to political and religious instability contributed 27 percent to the aggregate death toll, while fatal road traffic accidents constituted 13 percent of the nationwide fatalities..

Geographically, the distribution of fatal violence remained heavily concentrated in the northern territories, with Borno State maintaining its position as the most dangerous region after recording 2,221 deaths in 2025. The North-Central and North-West geopolitical zones also recorded heavy casualties, with Niger State logging 1,438 deaths, closely followed by Zamfara State with 1,426 fatalities. The Middle Belt hotbed of Benue State and the northwestern frontline of Katsina State rounded out the highest brackets, documenting 811 and 731 violent deaths respectively, prompting renewed calls from security analysts for a holistic structural overhaul of the country’s defense architecture.

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