The Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has claimed responsibility for what appears to be its first ever attack inside Nigeria.
The incident reportedly occurred on the night of October 28, 2025, in Nuku village, located in Kwara State near the border with the Republic of Benin. According to reports from local and regional media, armed militants believed to be JNIM fighters ambushed a security post, killing one Nigerian soldier, capturing another, and seizing weapons and motorcycles.
A video circulated online shows a man claiming responsibility for the attack on behalf of JNIM’s newly announced Nigerian brigade. While the group’s main propaganda outlets have not yet issued an official statement, counterterrorism experts say the claim is credible and marks a concerning expansion of JNIM’s reach beyond the Sahel region.
For years, JNIM has operated primarily in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where it has been responsible for hundreds of attacks targeting local forces, peacekeepers, and civilians. The latest claim suggests that the group is now attempting to extend its operations southward into Nigeria, exploiting porous borders, dense forests, and weak security coordination between West African states.
Security analysts say the location of the attack close to Kainji National Park and the Benin border.This region has long been flagged as a potential infiltration route for militants moving from the Sahel into Nigeria’s north central zone. Intelligence sources have warned that forest corridors in Kwara, Niger, and Kogi States could serve as staging grounds for jihadist cells linked to both Al-Qaeda and ISIS franchises in Africa.
The Nigerian government and security agencies have not yet issued an official statement regarding the reported JNIM claim. However, the development is likely to trigger heightened military operations and surveillance in the Kwara border axis. Residents of rural and forest adjacent communities are being urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious movements to authorities.
The potential expansion of Sahel based terrorist groups into central Nigeria raises serious security concerns. For years, Nigeria’s counterinsurgency efforts have focused mainly on Boko Haram and ISWAP in the northeast, but the emergence of JNIM in the north central zone signals a broader and more complex jihadist threat across the region.
