Jihadi fighters, long active in Africa’s volatile Sahel region, have now established themselves in northwestern Nigeria after crossing from neighboring Benin.
These extremists, believed to be affiliated with al-Qaida, relocated from Benin’s heavily affected northern region to Kainji Lake National Park, one of Nigeria’s largest.
The park, spanning 5,300 square kilometers in Niger state, has become a focal point for various armed groups, exacerbating security concerns along the nearby Benin border.
Authorities warn that the situation in the park is deteriorating rapidly, exceeding earlier predictions.
This sustained presence marks the first significant connection between Nigeria’s domestic extremists, who have waged a decade-long insurgency in the north, and al-Qaida-linked militants from the Sahel—a vast, arid region south of the Sahara Desert.
The security crisis in the Sahel coincides with a wave of military coups that are destabilizing democratic governments.
As these military regimes struggle to contain violence, they are increasingly turning away from traditional allies like France and the United States, seeking support from Russia instead.
In northwest Nigeria, remote territories with rich mineral resources and high poverty rates are proving fertile ground for the expansion of jihadi groups, including the Islamic State.
Conservationists are alarmed by the presence of armed groups in Kainji Lake National Park, fearing further endangerment of the remaining lion population, already under threat from poaching and climate change.
