At least 1,686 people were killed in 909 incidents of gang violence across Nigeria between January 2020 and March 2025, with the South-South and South-West regions emerging as the most affected, according to a report released Tuesday by SBM Intelligence.
Rivers State topped the fatality chart with 215 deaths, followed by Lagos (197 deaths) and Edo (192 deaths), reflecting the prevalence of entrenched cult and gang rivalries.
The report highlighted the involvement of groups such as Vikings, Icelanders, Eiye, Aiye, Black Axe, and Greenlanders. The South-South alone recorded over 750 deaths, driven by violent cult rivalries in Rivers, Delta, and Bayelsa states.
In the South-West, 491 fatalities were documented, especially in Lagos and Ogun states, both of which continue to witness recurrent clashes between the Aiye and Eiye confraternities.
Anambra State in the South-East also recorded significant violence, with over 215 deaths linked to escalating Viking and Aiye activities, sometimes connected to separatist tensions.
The North-Central, particularly Benue State, saw 204 deaths, mostly involving cult groups like Scavengers and Chain amid ongoing communal clashes.
In contrast, the North-East and North-West recorded fewer than 30 fatalities combined, mainly due to the dominance of larger terror groups like Boko Haram and armed bandits overshadowing traditional cult activities.
The report further noted fluctuating trends during the period, with 2021 recording the highest fatalities at 377 deaths across 173 incidents—likely tied to post-COVID economic hardship and political unrest.
In contrast, 2022 saw a drop to 228 deaths from 97 incidents, possibly due to security crackdowns or temporary gang truces.
However, incidents surged again in 2024, peaking at 273 incidents, although with reduced lethality per clash.
This increase in reported incidents was partly attributed to the democratization of reporting through social media platforms such as TikTok and Twitter, which expanded incident documentation beyond traditional police reports.
Economic hardship was also cited as a driver, pushing more youths into violent gangs, with first-quarter 2025 incidents already on pace to surpass 2022’s total.
Partial data for 2025 suggested a potential decline in fatalities, possibly linked to intensified security operations, although the overall patterns point to persistent instability influenced by economic factors, election cycles, and variable security measures.
The report revealed that Edo, Ogun, and Delta states alone accounted for 490 incidents (54% of all incidents) and 899 fatalities (53.3% of total deaths).
In Edo State, a late December 2023 clash between Black Axe and Eiye cultists claimed over 30 lives within a week.
Anambra recorded 128 fatalities, fuelled by escalating gang and separatist-linked violence. Akwa Ibom (89 deaths) and Bayelsa (69 deaths) also grappled with cult and militancy-related killings.
Other states such as Osun (55 deaths) and Kwara (58 deaths) experienced unexpected spikes, possibly due to the spread of cult groups from neighbouring states.
Conversely, states like Borno, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara reported zero or minimal fatalities, largely because their security challenges are dominated by terrorism and armed banditry, which restrict traditional gang operations.
