Nigeria is currently facing a multifaceted security crisis marked by mass abductions, rising violence, and the spread of armed groups across its vast territory. While some international voices have attempted to frame the unrest as religious persecution, the reality is far more complex. With more than 250 ethnic groups and a population split between the Muslim-majority north and Christian-majority south, Nigerians of all faiths have suffered in the escalating violence. Criminal gangs known as bandits operate mainly in the north-west, relying on mass kidnappings for ransom, while the north-east continues to grapple with the remains of the Boko Haram insurgency and its splinter faction, Iswap, both of which have carried out deadly attacks for more than a decade.
