File Photo: A snap shot of Bokoharm terrorists during a video.
Despite the rise in the number of attacks, the Observatory noted a significant drop in civilian casualties — from 141 deaths in September to 74 in October, a decrease of roughly 52.5 percent.
The number of abductions also fell sharply from 45 to just 5, an 89 percent decline, indicating a reduced reliance on kidnapping and hostage-taking tactics.
The Observatory added that injuries rose to 35 in October, whereas no injuries were recorded in September, suggesting a shift from mass executions to lower-impact or more targeted attacks.
According to the index, Nigeria again topped the list with four attacks that left 26 dead and 11 injured, reflecting continued activity by groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa Province (ISWAP), albeit with fewer casualties than in previous months.
Mali also recorded four attacks, resulting in 14 deaths, three injuries, and five kidnappings — evidence of persistent instability in the north amid increased activity by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda affiliate.
Burkina Faso saw two attacks that caused the month’s highest death toll, with 34 killed and 21 injured, underscoring the country’s position as the most violent hotspot in the region despite the decline in attack frequency.
Niger, meanwhile, reported only one attack with no fatalities, an encouraging sign attributed to improved border surveillance following intensified joint operations with Nigeria and Chad. Senegal and Benin recorded no terrorist activity, reflecting continued relative stability in the Gulf of Guinea.
On counterterrorism operations, West African and regional forces carried out 10 military operations in October, compared to only five in September — a 50 percent increase.
These efforts resulted in the neutralization of 187 militants and the arrest of 90 others, marking a significant improvement in intelligence, coordination, and joint field operations.
By contrast, counterterrorism activity in September led to the killing of 100 militants with almost no arrests, indicating a strategic shift in October toward more precise operations combining battlefield action with intelligence-driven detentions.
Overall, October’s data reveals a decline in the intensity of violence alongside a rise in lower-impact attacks, suggesting that terrorist organizations are shifting toward lower-cost, more dispersed tactics such as small ambushes and roadside explosives.
The Observatory stressed the importance of enhancing early-warning systems and border surveillance to prevent militant movement across Mali and Niger, strengthening military and intelligence coordination, expanding joint operations under regional blocs, and supporting rehabilitation and deradicalisation programmes — particularly in northern Nigeria and eastern Burkina Faso
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