Five terror attacks in Nigeria in 2024 ranked among world’s deadliest – GTI

A new report released by the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) has ranked five terror attacks in Nigeria in 2024 as some of the world’s deadliest.

In its 2025 report released on Saturday, the GTI listed the attacks that happened in Yobe and Borno States carried out by the Boko Haram sect and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) as among the world’s 50 most devastating attacks last year.

According to the report, the five deadly attacks were ranked 7th, 9th, 24th, 30th, and 33rd respectively on the global terrorism list.

The GTI report said the deadliest of the Nigerian attacks occurred on September 1, 2024, in Yobe, carried out by Boko Haram where 100 people were killed, placing it as the seventh-worst terrorist incident worldwide in 2024.

On April 24, 2024, an attack in Borno by ISWAP led to the loss of 85 people, making it the ninth most deadliest globally, the report said, while another attack by the same ISWAP group on September 1, 2024, which resulted in 37 deaths, was ranked 24th.

Another jihadist attack in Borno on May 26, 2024, with 30 casualties was ranked 30th just as another attack in Borno on June 29, 2024, credited to Boko Haram where 30 people were killed was ranked 33rd.

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According to the report, the single deadliest terrorist attack in 2024 occurred in Tahoua, Niger, on July 21, when jihadists killed 237 people in an armed assault while other major attacks ranked second to sixth globally included a JNIM attack in Centre-Nord, Burkina Faso, on August 24, 2024, which resulted in 200 deaths.

“Others included an attack by the JNIM in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso on June 11, 2024, that left 170 people dead; an attack by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province in Moscow, Russia, on March 22, 2024, which claimed 144 lives, an undetermined jihadist attack in Tillabéri, Niger, on December 10, 2024, where 138 people were killed; and an armed assault by an unidentified jihadist group in Est, Burkina Faso, on March 16, 2024, which left 100 people dead,” the report added.

“While attacks in Nigeria decreased by 37 per cent, deaths from terrorism continued to rise, increasing by six per cent to 565 in 2024. This marks the highest death toll since 2020, driven by ongoing conflict between ISWA and Boko Haram.

“Together, fatalities attributed to these groups accounted for nearly 60 per cent of all terrorism-related deaths in the country. Civilians became the most targeted group in 2024, accounting for 62 per cent of all deaths, a significant increase from 21 per cent in 2023.

“In contrast, terrorists and militants, who represented 38 per cent of deaths in 2023, accounted for only 15 per cent in 2024,” it added.

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