Ujasusi Blog’s Terrorism Monitor Desk | 19 October 2025 | 0125 BST

The Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has vowed to eliminate a newly identified terrorist sect called Wulowulo, pledging to pursue all armed actors threatening national security — regardless of the names they adopt. The group is reportedly a splinter faction of Boko Haram operating in Nasarawa State, in the country’s North-Central region.

Governor Abdullahi Sule first revealed Wulowulo’s presence during a security stakeholders meeting in Lafia, warning that the group’s emergence could worsen the already fragile security landscape. In response, the military has declared that all such groups will be treated as terrorists, and operations are being adapted to contain this new threat.

📜 A Brief History of Boko Haram and Splinter Dynamics

Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009, devastating communities in Nigeria’s North-East. Over a decade later, the conflict has killed over 350,000 people, including indirect deaths from displacement, hunger, and disease.

In 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, creating the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Infighting, ideological rifts, and leadership assassinations led to multiple offshoots such as Ansaru and now Wulowulo.

The rise of Wulowulo reflects this fractured jihadist landscape, where rival groups operate semi-independently across regions.

🚨 Wulowulo’s Emergence in Nasarawa State

On October 14, 2025, Governor Sule publicly warned that Wulowulo had started infiltrating North-Central Nigeria. He described it as a Boko Haram offshoot attempting to gain a foothold in Nasarawa, urging security agencies to act decisively.

Drawing parallels with the Lakurawa group — a terrorist network that migrated from Sokoto and Kebbi into Kwara State — Sule highlighted a disturbing trend: jihadist groups are expanding into previously unaffected regions, exploiting porous borders and local grievances.

While the Nasarawa Police Command initially downplayed the threat, insisting no verified presence of Wulowulo had been detected, federal authorities took a different stance. The military’s central command treated the intelligence seriously and began adjusting their threat assessments accordingly.

🪖 “Call Yourself Anything – You’re a Terrorist”: Military’s Position

During an October 17 briefing, Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye, Director of Defence Media Operations, categorically rejected the idea that new group names offer cover:

“Call yourself whatever name you like — you are a terrorist, a bandit, and we will go after you.”

He further declared that the military’s role is to either deliver terrorists to the judicial system or to their maker — a chilling but firm commitment to decisive action.

Kangye explained that although many violent crimes begin under police jurisdiction, the military intervenes when threats exceed policing capacity. Wulowulo, as a suspected Boko Haram faction, clearly qualifies. The DHQ has confirmed that all ongoing operations will now integrate counter-Wulowulo directives, ensuring early-stage suppression.

🔥 Multi-Theatre Operations and Counterinsurgency Updates

Nigeria’s military is already stretched across several high-risk theatres, from jihadist insurgencies in the northeast to banditry in the northwest and separatist militancy in the southeast. Nonetheless, the armed forces remain resolute in targeting Wulowulo.

In the North-East, Operation HADIN KAI continues against Boko Haram and ISWAP. Recent offensives in Borno and Yobe States have disrupted supply lines and killed dozens of insurgents.
In the South-East, Operation UDO KA recently captured an IPOB/ESN commander, code-named “Gentle”, along with collaborators and weapons caches.
In Kogi State, a bandit medical hideout was raided in Kabba-Bunu LGA. Injured kidnappers receiving clandestine treatment were arrested along with their fake medical personnel.
In Kwara and Niger States, federal operations are targeting Lakurawa cells, thought to have links to Sahelian jihadist movements.

This nationwide offensive framework offers the flexibility to pivot rapidly towards Nasarawa and other states where Wulowulo may attempt to settle.

📍 Implications of Wulowulo’s Emergence

1. Geographic Expansion of Jihadist Threats

Wulowulo’s presence signals that extremist violence is no longer confined to North-East Nigeria. The Middle Belt, long plagued by communal clashes, now faces ideologically motivated insurgency — a shift with enormous implications for intelligence planning and force deployment.

2. Blurring of Banditry and Terrorism

Groups like Wulowulo often exploit bandit networks for logistics, arms, and local knowledge. The line between jihadist ideology and criminal opportunism is increasingly thin. This convergence complicates response protocols and necessitates joint force structures.

3. Pressure on Military and Intelligence Resources

With new threats like Wulowulo and Lakurawa rising, Nigeria’s already strained security infrastructure faces further burdens. Coordinated military-police fusion units, along with community-level intelligence cells, will be vital to track and isolate new actors.

4. Regional Spillover Risk

Nigeria’s borders with Cameroon, Niger, and Benin remain porous. Wulowulo’s emergence increases the risk of cross-border infiltration, particularly into restive parts of Cameroon’s Far North or Benin’s Pendjari Park region, both of which have seen ISGS and JNIM activity.

🌍 Broader West African Context

The reconfiguration of terror threats in Nigeria reflects wider trends in West Africa’s conflict map:

The Sahel remains a jihadist hotspot, with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger hosting ISGS and JNIM cells. Fighters and arms are increasingly flowing southward into coastal and central states.
Nigeria’s diplomatic tensions with Niger’s junta have stalled MNJTF coordination, weakening joint operations.
The Lake Chad Basin is again under stress, with Boko Haram remnants regrouping in Cameroon and Chad, complicating Nigeria’s eastern security outlook.

Wulowulo could represent the early stages of another Sahelian-linked faction, underscoring the need for enhanced intelligence fusion and regional alert-sharing mechanisms.

🔭 Intelligence Outlook

Short-Term (0–12 months): Expect targeted search-and-destroy missions in Nasarawa, Benue, and Kogi States, with early arrests or neutralisations likely. Wulowulo’s command-and-control network is probably still weak.

Medium-Term (1–3 years): If unchecked, Wulowulo may evolve into a mobile terror cell with Sahelian ties, mirroring ISWAP’s early evolution. It could align with transhumance routes or local ethnic conflicts to embed itself.

Long-Term (3+ years): The North-Central zone could become a permanent insurgency corridor unless intelligence services invest in predictive threat mapping, local partnerships, and post-clearance stabilisation operations.

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