Every day, HumAngle’s journalists and researchers gather, sort through, and file stories on issues important to society. We bring you stories about development, conflict, and humanitarian trends across Africa in hopes that we can improve understanding of the most pressing problems and improve people’s quality of life.
In this roundup, Umar Aminu Yandaki shares some of the most important pieces of reporting we published last week — in case you missed them.
THE TOP STORY
Fewer Killings, Abductions In Nigeria In 2022 Compared To Previous Year But …
As many as 9,076 lives were lost to the violent incidents that unsettled Nigeria last year, and 4,680 people were victims of abduction. These figures are based on an analysis of data collected by the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), which has monitored insecurity in the country since 2011 through local press reports. While they show a dip in the number of victims of violence when compared to similar data compiled for 2021, zooming further out shows that insecurity is still generally on the rise in the West African country. The fatalities are the third-highest recorded within the last five years, while the number of abduction victims is much higher than those documented before 2021.
OTHER STORIES
Separatist Militants In Nigeria Are Increasingly Using Explosives
Separatist militants in southeastern Nigeria are increasingly adopting explosive devices and crude launch systems to target security forces and government facilities. The intensity and frequency of attacks by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have rapidly deteriorated since it formed an armed wing known as the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Dec. 2020. Raids by security forces have led to the destruction of camps and the recovery of lethal weapons, including homemade bombs and grenades.
IDP Camps Close But No End To ‘Camp Life’ For Many Displaced People
Like many other departing IDPs, Mustapha said he was left confused and saddened by how his return to his ancestral Local Government Area was handled. The IDPs alleged that the cash allowance was not distributed exactly as promised.
“We were told that before departing the camp, we would be handed food, non-food items, and cash of about ₦100,000, but what they later handed to us was ₦50,000,” Mustapha said.
Chased By Terrorists, Caught By The Military: Two Sides Of An Ugly War
Boko Haram wanted Adam Lawan dead. As a politician and vigilante, he represented everything they detested: allegiance to democratic rule and brazen defiance of the group’s armed insurgency. So they went after him each time they raided Uta, a village in Bama, northeastern Nigeria. Adam was lucky to escape the attempts on his life. Then came his encounter with Nigerian military personnel.
Nigeria’s Southwest Communities Where Robbery Letters Are Forcing People To Flee
HumAngle recently reported growing insecurity in the Southwest region of the country. The region brims with criminal cases as residents sleep with one eye closed. Though governors in the axis created a regional security network, Amotekun, to tackle the menace, insecurity has remained rampant.
There have also been cases of armed robbers breaking into residences to loot. When they realise that occupants have little or nothing to offer, they attack their victims and leave them in cold blood. In a bid to tackle robbers who send letters before invasions, community leaders told HumAngle that they usually inform the police, but the security agents would sometimes not show up until after the attack.
The Buni Yadi Tragedy: Through The Grief Of A Father
By the time Mallam Abdullahi heard that there had been a massacre at the boarding school in Northeast Nigeria where his son was a student, by the time he got into his car with his wife and drove from Damagum down to Buni Yadi to assess the situation and check on his son, the boy had already been buried. It was an approximately 120km journey, but he did not hear the news until it was too late.
“I did not see his corpse. I did not see his grave, not at that time,” he says.
Podcast: What Happened In The Staff Quarters During The Buni Yadi Massacre?
On Feb. 25, 2014, terrorists from the Boko Haram terror group attacked the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, in Northeast Nigeria. They killed at least 29 teenage schoolboys as they slept in their dormitories and burned down all the buildings, from the hostels to the classrooms. Only the mosque survived.
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