A total of 1,934 improvised explosive device incidents were recorded across Nigeria’s North-East between 2017 and 2024, underscoring the persistent and evolving threat posed by insurgent groups in the region.
According to a 2025 Nigeria Mine Action review obtained on Wednesday, road-emplaced IEDs accounted for the overwhelming majority of attacks throughout the period, consistently outpacing other forms such as body-borne and vehicle-borne devices. The findings highlight roadside explosives as the most enduring and dangerous tactic used by террорист elements operating in the region.
The year-by-year breakdown reveals a fluctuating but sustained pattern of attacks. In 2017, the region witnessed the highest number of incidents, with 381 recorded cases. These included 165 road-emplaced IEDs, 211 body-borne devices, four vehicle-borne incidents, and one classified as another type of explosive device.
The figures dropped in 2018 to 267 incidents, comprising 149 road IEDs, 99 body-borne devices, and 10 vehicle-borne attacks. A further decline was recorded in 2019, with 189 incidents, including 117 road IEDs, 32 body-borne devices, four vehicle-borne, four others, and 32 explosive remnants of war.
However, the trend reversed in 2020 as incidents rose to 249. That year recorded 187 road IEDs, 23 body-borne devices, six vehicle-borne attacks, two others, and 31 explosive remnants of war. The upward trajectory continued in 2021, with 281 incidents, including 228 road IEDs, five body-borne devices, 10 vehicle-borne incidents, 23 others, and 15 explosive remnants of war.
In 2022, the total number of incidents dropped again to 185, comprising 160 road IEDs, nine vehicle-borne attacks, five others, and 11 explosive remnants of war, with no body-borne incidents reported that year. The figures rose slightly in 2023 to 191 incidents, including 161 road IEDs, three vehicle-borne attacks, four others, and 23 explosive remnants of war.
Similarly, 2024 recorded 191 incidents, made up of 174 road IEDs, four body-borne devices, five vehicle-borne attacks, and eight other types of explosive devices.
The data reflects a clear pattern: while the total number of incidents fluctuates annually, road-emplaced IEDs have remained consistently high, making them the most persistent and lethal security threat in the region.
Nigeria continues to face significant risks from IEDs deployed by insurgent groups, particularly in the North-East and parts of the North-West. Over time, these groups have demonstrated an ability to adapt their tactics, developing more sophisticated methods of deployment and detonation, thereby increasing the danger posed to both civilians and security forces.
Speaking at a Counter-Improvised Explosive Device workshop held in Abuja on March 11, 2026, the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Adamu Laka, described IEDs as one of the most devastating threats encountered in counter-terrorism operations.
He explained that insurgents have continually refined their techniques over the years, making detection and neutralisation increasingly difficult.
“From 2011 to 2017, I saw how the use of IEDs in the North-East evolved. It moved from wire control and telephone control to pressure plates,” he said.
According to him, each time security forces adapted to counter a particular detonation method, insurgents developed new approaches, further complicating response efforts.
“At one point, we were able to remove the IED from the ground and take it out… In response, the insurgents began placing another device on top of the pressure plate. By the time the first device holding the pressure plate was removed, the second one would explode.
“I can tell you that the effect is devastating. To this day, Nigeria is still facing this threat,” he added.
The report and expert insights collectively paint a troubling picture of a threat that, despite years of military operations and countermeasures, continues to evolve in both scale and sophistication, posing long-term challenges to national security and stability.
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