2,968 killed, 1,484 Abducted As Nigerian States Emerges Most Violent In The World

At least, 2,968 people were killed while 1,484 were abducted in Nigeria from January to March 2022, according to data released by the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST)

Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), a project of the Council on Foreign Relations, gathers the data though “weekly surveys of Nigerian and international media.”

Recorded deaths

According to the data, more people were killed in the North-west region than in other regions in the country. At least 1,103 people were killed within the period in the region.

The North-central region recorded the second-highest number of murders with 984 killed during the period while in the North-east 488 were killed.

In the South-east 181 were killed during the period under review, while in the South-west and South-South regions 127 and 85 people were killed respectively.

Gunmen, locally called bandits, have been attacking and killing thousands of people in the country’s North-west since 2017. These assailants have attacked rural dwellers, destroyed their farmlands and in many cases only allow them to the farm after they have paid protection fees. They have also targeted travellers across the region in what some analysts say is one of the most lucrative kidnap-for-ransom syndicates in the continent.

In the North-east, the Islamist group, Boko Haram, has waged a bloody insurgency against the country, an estimated 35,000 people have been killed and over 3 million people displaced by the conflict.

In the South-east, unknown gunmen, which is a euphemism for members of the separatist organisation, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militia wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), have killed several people. They especially target government buildings and security personnel. They also run a kidnap-for-ransom operation in the region.

More violence in the north

 

The data show that the country’s north is the more violent region with 2,575 (86.8%) murders, while the country’s south recorded 393 deaths (13.2%)

 

Some of the most violent states in the country are Niger with 840 deaths followed by Zamfara with 404, Borno 392, Kaduna 332 and Kebbi 114.

 

Abductions

 

The data further show that the North-west recorded 746 abductions during the period. In the North-central 547 were abducted while 61 people were abducted in the North-east.

 

In the South-east, 53 people were abducted, 44 were abducted in the South-South and 36 people were abducted in the South-west.

 

The northern part of the country with 1,354, has 91.2% of those abducted while the southern part with 130 abductees has 8.8%.

 

In January, 623 people were abducted while in February, 342 got kidnapped and 519 March.

 

Based on a state by state analysis, the top five states with the highest number of abductees are Niger 458, Kaduna 448, Zamfara 138, Katsina 138, Katsina 106 and Kogi 51.

 

Nigerian bandit conflict

The bandit conflict in northwest Nigeria is an ongoing conflict between the country’s government and various gangs and ethnic militias. Starting in 2011, the insecurity left from the conflict between the Fulani and Hausa ethnic groups quickly allowed other criminal and jihadist elements to form in the region.

The origins of the bandit conflict can be traced back to herder-farmer conflicts that plague Nigeria. Environmental decline and the scarcity of water and arable land led to communities competing viciously for those limited resources. Unemployment, large-scale poverty and weak local government have allowed for a steady stream of desperate people turning to criminal activity to earn a living. Large forested areas allowed for concealment and the formation of camps deep in the forest. Unequipped police and military personnel are unable to reach these forested areas.

Bandits in Nigeria engage in multiple ways to earn money. Bandits ride into towns and villages on motorcycles and loot and kidnap anyone they see; anyone resisting will be killed. Kidnapping is a very profitable venture in northwest Nigeria. A cow in Nigeria can fetch 200,000 Nigerian naira while one kidnapping can get millions of naira. Between 2011 and 2020 Nigerians had to pay at least 18 million to free family members and friends.