TIMELINE: At least 635 People Killed, 182 Abducted Across Nigeria in May
May was Nigeria’s deadliest month in 2025, as insecurity and violence surged across the country, leading to widespread fatalities, according to HumAngle Tracker.
No fewer than 635 people lost their lives in May 2025 across Nigeria, according to the HumAngle Tracker. This marks the highest monthly death toll recorded so far this year. In addition, at least 182 people were abducted during the same period.
These figures underscore the increasing vulnerability of Nigerians to insecurity and conflict. It also represents an increase in the number of fatalities compared to previous months of the year, 2025.
In April, the Tracker recorded 590 deaths and 192 kidnappings. This means fatalities increased by approximately 7.6 per cent in May, while the number of abductions slightly declined.
The HumAngle Tracker is a data-driven incidents tracking platform that monitors security trends and documents incidents such as violent attacks, communal clashes, road accidents, building collapses, fire incidents, strategic developments, kidnappings, and femicide. The figures are based on verified media reports.
Here is a timeline of some of the major incidents in May.
Timeline:
May 1: In Nigeria’s South South, suspected pirates abducted four people in Bayelsa State, while security forces in Kebbi State in the North West confirmed a “lone abduction” of a farm manager.
In Benue State, North-central Nigeria, four people were killed in an attack by suspected terrorists in the Akpete community in Apa Local Government Area. Similarly, two police operatives manning a checkpoint in Enugu in the country’s South East were killed following a terrorist attack.
Lakurawa in Kebbi mounted a devastating attack that killed no fewer than 13 hunters.
Meanwhile, in Rivers State, the police command confirmed the rescue of two Ghanaian women abducted in the state.
May 2: A tanker loaded fully with petroleum fell off and exploded in Jigawa State, spilling the petrol on the road, a tragedy averted by the swift response of security agencies as locals scooped the spillage. In Bauchi State, assailants raided the house of a former local government chairman and assassinated him. Three communities in Sokoto State were attacked by terrorists, claiming 11 lives.
A fire outbreak in Sango razed three shops, while a military counter-insurgency operation eliminated two terror warlords in Zamfara state.
May 3: Two soldiers of the 27 Task Force Battalion were killed in an attack in Yobe State, while in Taraba, the military neutralised a terrorist and recovered arms
May 4: A local security outfit and terrorists clashed in Bauchi State, leading to the killing of 25 people, both the vigilante and the terrorists. In Benue, two people were killed and four abducted in an attack by terrorists plying the Otukpo-Adoka road of the state.
In the country’s North West, five people from Kano in Danbatta died in an auto crash while returning from Bauchi State.
In Sokoto, police confirmed the arrest of a notorious gun runner and recovered arms, including bullets and a pistol. In the South West, three people lost their lives to accidents in Lagos and Ogun.
Meanwhile, police thwarted a kidnapping incident at the Okocha Junction in Anambra State.
May 5: Marit and Gashis communities in Plateau State woke up to the killing of six residents by terrorists, and in Kano, armed robbers stabbed a man returning from mosque after attending prayer.
A caterpillar in Ondo State crushed a nursing mother and her child. This happened as in Jigawa State, a community was plunged into mourning following the killing of a father by his 20-year-old son.
May 6: In Akwa-Ibom, suspected cultists murdered a farmer in his apartment located at the Etim Ekpo Local Government Area. Similarly, gunmen ambushed a vehicle, killing the driver, hijacking the 18-seater bus plying the Aba-Owerri road in Imo State.
In another incident, police officers in Niger State gundown a druglord, Bello Mai Danger, during a face off with operatives when the deceased resisted arrest. Meanwhile, in Ogun, a lady was found dead and mutilated along the OGTV road in the state capital.
May 7: Still in the South West on the Ogun road, an accident claimed one life and injured ten. Elsewhere in the region, fire gutted properties worth millions of Naira in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
An incident of battle between troops of the Nigerian military and elements of insurgents in Borno left both parties with a record of casualties. Terrorists killed seven people across two local governments in Benue State: Gwer East and Makurdi.
May 8: Terrorists killed a police inspector in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, in an ambush. In Anambra, a fire outbreak razed properties. Meanwhile, in Katsina State, a member of a local vigilante lost his life during a duel with terrorists in a police-repelled attack in Dutsin-ma.
In the Gbarantoru community of Bayelsa State, two Niger Delta University graduates were hacked by cultists leading to their death.
Meanwhile, amid the chaos, about 37 kidnapped victims in Kogi State were rescued following a terrorist attack on their moving vehicle, with seven others still missing.
May 9: Terrorists in Delta state demanded a ₦50 million ransom after the kidnapping of one Azubuike Bright. In Kwara, also, a petrol dealer and his manager were whisked away by terrorists who pressed for a ₦200 million ransom to free the hostages.
A series of coordinated attacks on different Benue communities left 23 dead.
On the same day, Nigerian troops in Katsina State eliminated some criminal elements terrorising parts of the state, recovering caches of weapons, destroying terror camps.
May 10: Terrorists in Ika South LGA of Delta State abducted a lady farmer in an incident that prompted a swift response from vigilantes in the area. Terrorists in Zamfara disguised in police uniforms have killed a teacher during an attack on Government Secondary School, Raka, in Tsafe, and kidnapped three women.
May 11: An AK-47 rifle was recovered from a suspected gunrunner nabbed by troops operating in Plateau State. In Gwer West LGA of Benue State, the council chairman imposed a curfew to arrest the renewed killings recorded frequently in the local government.
Two people were killed as a result of a farmer-herder clash in Taraba State, with several others injured.
May 12: Renewed terrorist attacks in Borno left military positions dislocated, with many killed. In a Lagos accident along the Trade Fair-Agbara route at Iyana Era Bus Stop, one life was lost, with two others sustaining injuries.
Terrorists in Benue attacked communities, killing no fewer than seven people. During a busy market day, gunmen abducted five people in the Dogon Ruwa community, Plateau, and looted foodstuffs.
In Ondo State, gunmen invaded the house of a local politician and kidnapped him.
May 13: Youths in Katsina thwarted a terrorist attack, forcing the terrorists to retreat.
May 14: Terrorists killed eight people in Wereng camp community in Riyom LGA, Plateau State by terrorists.
May 15: Gunmen killed two people in Agulu-Nanka, Anambra State. In another incident, fire gutted a section of the Ifako Ijaiye General Hospital in Lagos.
Troops under Operation Safe Haven in Plateau State neutralised two terrorists in an ambush and recovered a rifle. Elsewhere in the North-central, a monarch, Oba James Dada Ogunyanda, was forcefully abducted in his palace in Kogi State by unidentified gunmen. On the same day, Boko Haram insurgents killed fifty farmers in Malam Karanti village of Borno state.
In Ondo State, the local security outfit Amotekun rescued five kidnapped victims.
May 16: The cooking gas section of Nobpet Filling Station in Rivers State exploded, injuring at least five persons. In Anambra, a similar incident claimed one life when a welding gas exploded in Onitsha.
The Benue State Police Command confirmed the killing of a university student by a stray bullet from the rifle of its operatives. A pastor in Enugu murdered four siblings in the Ibagwa-Aka, Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of the state.
May 17: An Ondo State politician was killed by abductors. At the Abuja Airport, operatives arrested a wanted kidnapper travelling for the Hajj pilgrimage.
Hussaini Bena, chairman of Danko Wasagu LGA, said, terrorists massacred fifteen farmers in Waje community, Kebbi State, leaving three others with sustained injuries.
Troops of the Nigerian Army successfully repelled a terrorist attack in Tsafe area of Zamfara State, and fifteen traders returning from Oweto market in Benue State were murdered by terrorists.
May 18: Seven persons died in a truck accident in Lambata-Bida axis of Niger State. While one person was killed in a Lagos building collapse that left three injured, a terrorist in Zamfara was murdered in a military offensive.
May 19: A man set his family ablaze, killing one of his daughters. Also, terrorists attacked Garin Idi in Sokoto State and abducted several residents. The Rairaye community in Katsina was attacked by bandits, rustling many cattle.
Meanwhile, a joint security operation engaged kidnappers in Kogi, where they rescued three hostages.
May 20: In Edo, a man beat his wife to death, while a gas explosion rocked Alake Sports Complex, causing pandemonium.
Seven inmates escaped the medium security custodial centre in Ilesa, Osun State, while a stray bullet killed a student in Oyo. Also, gunmen attacked the Okoloke community in Kogi and whisked away four persons.
May 21: Terrorists in Zamfara abducted a medical doctor. Seven ISWAP members were reportedly killed by troops in a counter-terrorism operation in Borno State.
Similarly, in Kogi State, a retired army major was kidnapped, while two soldiers were killed and two others were killed by terrorists who laid siege on Ijaha Ikobi in Apa LGA in Benue State.
Efab Global Estate in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, was attacked by armed robbers. At least five security guards and several homes were robbed.
May 22: Operatives of the Katsina State Police Command foiled a kidnapping incident and rescued three victims.
In Benue, a communal clash left four injured. Meanwhile, the Tiv Area Traditional Council in the state pronounced an eviction order on all herders around their communities.
May 23: Troops in Plateau raided a terrorist hideout and neutralised one terrorist in the process. In Borno, combined troops from the army and air force strongly opposed Boko Haram elements and killed sixteen insurgents
On the same day, two communities in Plateau State were attacked by terrorists, killing three people, including a retired police officer. A female student died after a truck rammed into a group of students while returning from school in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
May 24: A violent clash between hunters and herders in Taraba State over water left many with varying degrees of injury. In Anambra State, police confirmed destroying a bomb factory and defusing IEDs.
May 25: Nineteen, including five children, died in an auto crash along the Lokoja-Obajana road in Kogi State.
In Rivers, the police disclosed the killing of a notorious kidnap suspect.
May 26: In Ondo, three members of a Deeper Life Church in Kasemola were abducted during Bible studies at the church premises. On the same day in Gusau, Zamfara State, one person was abducted and scores killed during a terrorist attack.
May 27: Terrorists gun down two herders in Abuja community and injure a local vigilante member. Seven people were killed in Mushere, Plateau State, by armed criminals.
In Zamfara state, eleven people were killed during an attack on Danmutari village, and 117 people were abducted.
May 28: Terrorists attacked a Nasarawa State traditional ruler and kidnapped him.
On the same day, two people died in an accident in Osun, which also left fifteen injured.
May 29: Armed herders killed three residents of Agan, a community in Benue State.
May 30: Terrorists killed two persons in an attack launched on Damaribin, Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina state. On the same day, Nigerian troops killed sixty terrorists in Borno State.
May 31: In Kano, a road accident claimed the lives of 20 athletes, who were returning from the National Sports Festival that took place in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
On the same day, firefighters from the Kwara State Fire Service were met with mob action while responding to a distress call in Ilorin, the state capital. No firefighter sustained any injuries during the incident, according to local authorities.
In Borno, an improvised explosive device exploded and killed nine persons at a bus stop in Mairari, a village in the Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State.
One person died in a clash between residents of a community in Ilorin West LGA, Kwara State, and the local environmental task force.
In Benue, a passenger was abducted aboard a commercial vehicle commuting on the Owukpa-Orokam road in Ogbadibo Local Government Area.
Meanwhile, police officers in Abuja foiled a child trafficking attempt in the nation’s capital.
Download the latest HumAngle Tracker here
In May 2025, Nigeria experienced its highest monthly death toll of the year with 635 fatalities due to various incidents, confirming a 7.6% increase in deaths compared to April. Additionally, 182 people were abducted during this period as reported by the data-driven HumAngle Tracker, which monitors and documents security-related incidents, including terrorist attacks and kidnappings across the country.
Major incidents included attacks by suspected terrorists and armed groups across various states, leading to numerous deaths and abductions. Notable events comprised armed attacks in Benue, Sokoto, and Zamfara, clashes between local security and terrorists, and tragic accidents such as oil tanker explosions and road crashes resulting in multiple casualties.
This alarming situation underscores the growing insecurity and conflict affecting Nigerian citizens throughout the month.
Support Our Journalism
There are millions of ordinary people affected by conflict in Africa whose stories are missing in the mainstream media. HumAngle is determined to tell those challenging and under-reported stories, hoping that the people impacted by these conflicts will find the safety and security they deserve.
To ensure that we continue to provide public service coverage, we have a small favour to ask you. We want you to be part of our journalistic endeavour by contributing a token to us.
Your donation will further promote a robust, free, and independent media.
Donate HereStay Closer To The Stories That Matter
