Insecurity: 442 Killed In Nigeria, Over 200 Kidnapped In Last 2 Weeks Of January
In the second half of January, at least 442 people lost their lives to insecurity across Nigeria, according to data from Nigeria Security Tracker (NST).
NST is a project of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) that maps socio-political and economically motivated violence in the country based on reports by the media.
The catalogue recorded 105 violent incidents in the two-week period between Jan. 16 and Jan. 29, which led to hundreds of deaths and the abduction of 207 people. These spread through 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Most killings took place in Kaduna State (119), Zamfara State (105), and Borno State (27).
Other fatalities were recorded in Abia (1), Akwa Ibom (10), Anambra (2), Benue (5), Cross River (4), Delta (10), Ebonyi (40), Edo (3), FCT (1), Imo (11), Katsina (32), Lagos (3), Nasarawa (15), Niger (14), Ondo (5), Oyo (13), Plateau (3), Sokoto (1), Taraba (7), Rivers (6), and Yobe (5).
Among the dead were 253 civilians and 22 security operatives.
Others killed were 29 suspected Boko Haram members, 21 kidnappers, three robbers, and 130 other armed people, including bandits.
On the other hand, Niger State recorded the highest number of kidnap victims during the period (91), followed by Kaduna (32), Taraba (27), and Kogi (14).
Other states where abductions took place were Adamawa (1), Akwa Ibom (4), Bauchi (2), Borno (2), Delta (2), Edo (1), FCT (10), Imo (1), Katsina (7), Nasarawa (1), Osun (2), and Zamfara (11).
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, Jan. 26, replaced the country’s service chiefs to wide approval after over five years.
Respectively, the new chiefs of defence, army, naval, and air staff are Maj.-Gen. Leo Irabor, Maj.-Gen. I. Attahiru, Rear Admiral A.Z. Gambo, and Air Vice-Marshal I.O Amao.
In his first meeting with the new military chiefs the following day, Buhari admitted that the country was in a state of emergency.
“You know the stage we were in 2015 and you know the stage we are now and the undertakings we made,” he said.
“We promised to secure the country, revive the economy, and kill the culture of corruption. None has been easy, but we have certainly made progress. We have done well in the Northeast, and the people themselves can testify. We are working on Northwest, and other challenging parts of the country,” the president said.
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