Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has claimed that Nigeria is now more secure under President Bola Tinubu than it was eight years ago, citing international data. But a review of the 2026 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), the very source Omokri references, tells a different story.
In a recent interview, Omokri argued that Nigeria’s security progress should be assessed using independent global reports rather than government claims. He referenced the GTI, stating that terrorism-related deaths in Nigeria dropped from 7,752 in 2015 to about 550 in the most recent report. However, the data does not support these figures.
The 2015 GTI report did not record 7,752 terrorism deaths in Nigeria. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, which produces the index, Nigeria’s terrorism deaths peaked at 2,101 in 2014. The figure of 7,752 that Omokri cited appears to conflate global deaths attributed to Boko Haram in 2014 — which the GTI recorded as 6,644 — with Nigeria-specific data.
The 2026 GTI report does not state that Nigeria recorded 550 terrorism-related deaths. Instead, the data shows that terrorism deaths surged by 46 per cent to 750 fatalities in 2025. This represents the highest death toll since 2020.
The available data paints a clear picture of deterioration: according to the data, Nigeria recorded 565 terrorism-related deaths in 2024 and 750 in 2025. Also in terms of worsening rankings, Nigeria moved from 6th place in 2024 and 2025 to 4th place in 2026.
Also, terror incidents surged by 43 per cent, from 120 in 2024 to 171 in 2025.
While global terrorism deaths fell by 28 per cent to 5,582 in 2025, Nigeria recorded the largest increase in terrorism deaths globally. The country was the only one in sub-Saharan Africa where both deaths and incidents increased simultaneously. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram were responsible for approximately 80 per cent of all terrorism-related fatalities in the country.
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