The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has raised the alarm over a rapidly escalating Hausa–Fulani insurgency in North-West Nigeria, following a fact finding mission to the region in January led by Executive Director Abdulrazaq Hamzat.
PeacePro identified Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto States as the epicenters of the growing crisis.
Hamzat noted that the insurgency is distinct from the persistent Almajiri system, but both crises are compounding insecurity and social fragmentation.
Alarmingly, Hausa and Fulani communities are increasingly developing parallel, retaliatory insurgent tendencies, deepening mistrust and cycles of violence.
According to Hamzat, the insurgency emerged from banditry in the mid-2010s, with criminal networks exploiting ethnic tensions to expand kidnapping, cattle rustling, illegal mining, and territorial control, adding that political mismanagement has worsened the crisis, with some leaders downplaying criminal activity or blaming entire communities, fueling retaliation and armed self defense mobilization.
“State failure and political manipulation have transformed what could have been contained disputes into an entrenched insurgency,” Hamzat said.
Zamfara has become the epicenter due to weak governance and unregulated mining. Katsina faces rising reprisal attacks and kidnappings, while Sokoto, historically insulated by religious authority, is now experiencing spillover violence, raising regional alarm.
PeacePro is calling for urgent, decisive action, including impartial security intervention, criminal justice accountability, political de-escalation, and community reconciliation, warning that failure to act risks turning the North-West into a lawless zone.
