Bring hope to forgotten conflicts
24 November 2025
Warning: This Crisis Monitor contains graphic details of loss, including the impact of violence on children. The names of survivors have been replaced with pseudonyms.
Surging intercommunal violence in Central Nigeria
In addition to violence in the north, a full-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Central Nigeria. Away from the headlines, vulnerable communities are caught in cycles of intercommunal violence.
Fulani militia target predominantly Christian communities in rural areas. More than 20,000 people have been killed, and thousands have been forcibly displaced by insecurity and fear.
Systemic failures
Security forces consistently fail to respond to advance warnings of attacks. These failures have led to widespread distrust among affected communities, who perceive the state as either unable or unwilling to protect them. This enables repeat attacks to continue with impunity.
Two villages were attacked in Heipang in Plateau State on October 14 2025. Thirteen people were killed, including five children. This marked the third assault on the community since 2018, and follows a pattern of attacks in the region. Survivors shared that security forces took more than an hour to respond. The forces were stationed just 3km away from the village.
We were woken up by gunfire. Some of us managed to escape. Our daughter and granddaughter hid among the livestock. They were found and killed for no just reason.
Emerging trend of abductions
Terrorists impose ransoms on targeted communities in Plateau State. However, vulnerable communities cannot afford to pay these ransoms. Often, their livelihoods have been destroyed in previous attacks. This leaves them vulnerable to cycles of threat and violence. They are forced to comply with money or to risk their lives.
The extortion is imposed on the poorest families - and it is rarely a one-off. You have to keep paying to survive.
An inadequate (inter)national response
Conflict-affected communities in Central Nigeria do not receive the same support as those in the north. Neither the Nigerian Government, nor the UK or US Government, nor any member of the EU or African Union, nor relief UN agencies, have provided adequate security or assistance. Following aid cuts, communities in Central Nigeria will be further sidelined.
This Crisis Monitor {Nov 2025} is the first edition of a new series. We will release further editions as we receive vital updates from local partners and as we continue to monitor the crisis on-the-ground.
For media enquiries, please contact anais.arroyo@hart-uk.org