This is a list of wars involving the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its predecessor states.
Part of a series on the | ||||||||||||||||||
History of Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||||
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Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Idah war (1515-1516) part of the European exploration of Africa | Igala Kingdom | Benin-Portuguese victory |
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Battle of Dahomey (1728) | Oyo Empire | Dahomey | Victory |
Battle of Atakpamé | Victory
| ||
Battle of Tabkin Kwatto part of the Fulani War (1804) | Sokoto Caliphate | Decisive Sokoto victory | |
Fulani War part of the Fula jihads (1804–1808) |
| Sokoto victory
| |
Battle of Oyo Ile | Oyo Empire | Nupe | Decisive Oyo victory
|
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Igbo-Igala Wars (18th-19th century) | Stalemate | ||
Ekumeku Movement (1883–1914) | Ekumeku organisation | British victory
| |
Anglo-Aro War part of the Scramble for Africa (1901–1902) | British victory | ||
Battle of Kano part of the Pacification of Northern Nigeria (1903) | British victory | ||
African theatre of World War I part of the First World War (1914–1918) | ![]()
|
| Allied victory
|
Kamerun campaign part of the African theatre of World War I (1914–1916) | Allied victory
| ||
First Battle of Garua part of the Kamerun campaign in World War I (1914) | German victory | ||
Battle of Gurin part of the Kamerun campaign in World War I (1915) | British victory | ||
Second Battle of Garua part of the Kamerun campaign in World War I (1915) | Allied victory | ||
Bussa Rebellion part of World War I (1915) | Supporters of the Emir of Bussa | British victory | |
Adubi War (1918) | Egba rebels | British victory | |
East African Campaign (World War II) part of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of the Second World War (1940–1943) | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Allied victory
|
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Congo Crisis part of thethe decolonisation of Africa and the Cold War (1960–1964) | 1960–1963: Supported by:
1963–1964:Supported by:
| 1960–1963:Supported by: 1960–1962:Supported by: 1963–1964:Supported by: | Victory
|
1966 Nigerian coup d'état (1966) | Coup failed but government was still overthrown
| ||
1975 Nigerian coup d'état (1975) |
|
| Coup succeeds
|
1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt (1976) |
|
| Coup fails
|
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Nigerian Civil War part of the Cold War and the decolonisation of Africa (1967–1970) |
| Nigerian victory
| |
Operation UNICORD part of the Biafran War (1967) | Nigerian victory | ||
Midwest Invasion of 1967 part of the Biafran War (1967) |
| Nigerian victory | |
First Invasion of Onitsha part of the Biafran War (1967) | Biafran victory | ||
Operation Tiger Claw part of the Nigerian Civil War (1967) | Nigerian victory | ||
Fall of Enugu part of the Nigerian Civil War (1967) | Nigerian victory | ||
Second Invasion of Onitsha part of the Biafran War (1968) | Nigerian victory | ||
Abagana Ambush part of the Nigerian Civil War (1968) | Decisive Biafran victory | ||
Invasion of Port Harcourt part of the Biafran War (1968) | Victory | ||
Operation OAU part of the Biafran War (1968) | Biafran victory | ||
Operation Hiroshima part of the Biafran War (1968) | Decisive Nigerian victory | ||
Siege of Owerri part of the Nigerian Civil War (1968–1969) | Biafran victory | ||
Operation Leopard (1969) part of the Biafran War | Victory | ||
Invasion of Umuahia part of the Biafran War (1969) | Victory | ||
Operation Tail-Wind part of the Biafran War (1970) | Decisive Nigerian victory
|
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Shaba I part of the Shaba Invasions and the Cold War (1977) | Supported by: |
| Zairian victory
|
Chadian–Libyan conflict part of the Cold War and the Arab Cold War (1978-1987) |
|
Pro-Libyan Palestinian and Lebanese groups [25]
Supported by: | Chadian and French victory
|
1983 Nigerian coup d'état (1983) |
| Coup succeeds
| |
Chadian–Nigerian War (1983) | Nigerian victory | ||
1985 Nigerian coup d'état (1985) |
|
| Coup succeeds
|
First Liberian Civil War part of the Liberian Civil Wars and spillover of the Sierra Leone Civil War (1990–1997) |
| Anti-Doe Armed Forces elements | NPFL victory
|
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Unified Task Force | Operational success
| ||
Sierra Leone Civil War part of the spillover of the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars (1991–2002) |
|
| Commonwealth victory |
1998 Monrovia clashes part of the aftermath of the First Liberian Civil War (1998) | | | Partial victory of Charles Taylor
|
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
---|---|---|---|
War on terror part of the post-Cold War and post-9/11 eras (2001 [36] [note 1] –2021 [37] [note 2] ) | Main countries: | Main opponents: | Major wars ended, ongoing in small operations [38] |
Insurgency in the Maghreb part of the war on terror and the War against the Islamic State (2002–present) |
| Ongoing
| |
Conflict in the Niger Delta (2003–present) |
List |
Niger Delta Marine Force [56]
Supported by: Bandits | Ongoing
|
Operation Juniper Shield part of the Global War on Terrorism (Islamist insurgency in the Sahel) (2007–present) |
|
| Ongoing |
First Bakassi insurgency part of the conflict in the Niger Delta and the piracy in the Gulf of Guinea (2006–2018) | ![]() Niger Delta militias Pro-Nigerian militias | Defeat
| |
Somali Civil War part of the Somali Civil War, conflicts in the Horn of Africa, the Ethiopian–Somali conflict, war against the Islamic State, Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa, and Global War on Terrorism (2009–present) | Regional forces:
Supported by: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Independent regional forces |
Alleged non-state allies:
Allies Alleged support: | Ongoing
|
Boko Haram insurgency part of the religious violence in Nigeria, the war against the Islamic State, the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel, and the war on terror [101] (2009–present) |
|
| Ongoing (Map of the current military situation)
|
2009 Boko Haram uprising part of the Boko Haram insurgency (2009) | Violence quelled | ||
Nigerian bandit conflict part of the Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria (2011–present [129] ) | Vigilante groups
| Various bandit groups
Islamist rebels:
| Ongoing |
Mali War part of the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel, War on terror and the War against the Islamic State (2012-present) | 2012–2013 2013–2022/23 2023– Native militia 2014– 2015–23 | 2012 2012–15 2023–24 2024– 2012– 2012–2017
2017– 2015–2019 2019– | Ongoing |
Operation Serval part of the Mali War and the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel (2013–2014) | |
| Malian/French victory
|
Military intervention against ISIL part of the War on terror, the Second Libyan Civil War, the War in Iraq (2013–2017), the Syrian civil war and its spillover, the Sinai insurgency, the Boko Haram insurgency, the insurgency in the North Caucasus, the Moro conflict, the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, the Islamic State insurgency in Puntland the Sahel War and the Salafi-jihadist insurgency in the Gaza Strip (2014–present) | In multiple regions: In Iraq In Syria
In Afghanistan In West Africa |
| Ongoing; IS militarily defeated in Iraq, Syria and Libya
|
Chibok ambush part of the Boko Haram insurgency (2014) | Boko Haram victory
| ||
2015 West African offensive part of the Boko Haram insurgency (2015) | Multinational Joint Task Force Local militias [170] |
| Multinational Joint Task Force victory |
ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia part of the 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis (first three days of the intervention) (2017-Present) | ECOWAS forces
|
Protestors against continued ECOWAS presence | Ongoing
|
Chad Basin campaign (2018–2020) part of the Boko Haram insurgency | Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) Self-defense militias |
| Partial Multinational Joint Task Force victory
|
Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria part of the herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria and the conflict in the Niger Delta (2021–present) | ![]() Spillover into Bakassi: ![]() | | Ongoing
|
Anambra Ambush part of the insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria (2023) | | Suspected Biafra separatists victory
| |
Nigerien crisis (2023–2024) part of the aftermath of the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état |
Supported by: |
| ECOWAS takes no military action
|
The initial neutrality of the USSR's Western rivals, including Britain and the United States in particular, I gather, provided an opening for the Soviets to send MiG fighters and technical assistance to the Nigerians, thereby including the region in the cold war theater.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Somali military officials maintain that Iran has been running secret operations to undermine the United States in Somalia, providing sophisticated weapons, improvised explosive100000 als used to make bombs. The military officials allege that Iran and its proxies are complicit in al-Shabab attacks on the U.S. military, Somali forces, and the African Union Mission in Somalia
For Iran, working with non-State actors such as Al-Shabaab and the Houthis is an essential part of its foreign policy, aimed at expanding its geopolitical influence throughout the region. Tehran has developed an unspoken alliance with Al-Shabaab with the aim of creating a covert intelligence network that will allow it to achieve its goals and support its interests in the Middle East and Africa.
The Quds Force has been working with agents and allies, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and Somalia's Al-Shabaab, which are thought to have recently established relations with the Quds Force.
Somali police and finance ministry officials claim the Quds Force uses these networks to smuggle Iranian oil into Somalia and then sell cheap oil across Africa to subvert U.S. sanctions, with some of the proceeds used to support militants in Yemen and Somalia
Qatar has allegedly used al-Shabab to target groups it has identified as opposing its interests, including Somali politicians critical of Doha's role in the country and outside actors like the United Arab Emirates
Qatar's cultivation of African Islamists, principally Somalia's al-Shabab insurgents, has similarly troubled the United States, which has accused the movement of providing a haven for al-Qaeda militants involved in attacks against Americans
Qatari individuals and government representatives are reported to have been in regular contact with Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen in order to exert geopolitical influence
Guns supplied by Iran to its Houthi allies in Yemen are being smuggled across the Gulf of Aden to Somalia, according to a Geneva-based think tank, where al Qaeda-linked al Shabab insurgents are battling a weak and divided government.
Iran has established links with the jihadist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia to attack United States and other international forces in the African country and the region and to supply arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen
In addition, increased smuggling activities involving small arms and light weapons are observed between the Houthis and Al-Shabaab, with indications of shared military supplies or a common supplier. ... Houthis are evaluating options to carry out attacks at sea from the Somali coast. To that end, they are strengthening ties with the terrorist group Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujaahidiin (Al-Shabaab).
The Taliban has declared the Islamic State affiliate ISIS-K a corrupt "sect" and forbidden Afghans from contact with it.