Over 200 Killed, 71 Kidnapped In Nigeria In 2 Weeks Due To Insecurity

Data from the Nigeria Security Tracker shows that at least 203 people lost their lives as a result of insecurity across the country while 71 others were victims of kidnapping between Monday, July 13, and Friday, July 24.

The tracker, supervised by the Council on Foreign Relations, monitors violent incidents that are related to political, social, and economic grievances.

The highest rate of fatality during the two-week period was recorded in Katsina, Kaduna, and Borno where 54, 53, and 40 people were killed respectively. Twenty-six people were killed in Zamfara, five in Kogi, three in Sokoto and Taraba, two in Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Jigawa, and Nasarawa, and one each in Cross River, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Plateau, and Rivers states.

Among the casualties were 48 civilians and 37 security personnel. Also killed were 42 sectarian actors, 16 insurgents, seven kidnappers, and 53 other armed persons.

On Saturday, July 18, at least 23 soldiers were reported to have been ambushed and killed by a group of bandits in Jibia, Katsina. Others were said to have been missing following the incident. 

On July 19, gunmen killed 21 people and injured many others during an attack in Kukum Daji, a village in Kaduna’s Kaura Local Government Area.

“The attackers stormed the village at exactly 10:35, heavily armed and started shooting sporadically at the villagers.  They shot people celebrating at a party after a wedding ceremony,” said President of the Community’s Development Association, Yashen Titus.

He added, “The attackers were heavily armed. 19 people died instantly from gunshots. 32 other people who sustained various degrees of injury were rushed to the hospitals, but unfortunately, two of them died in the hospital.

“As I speak, some of the villagers are still missing and we don’t know their whereabouts or their situation. We cannot even search deep into the bush because security agents have not been deployed to the community yet.”

According to the catalogue, Katsina again topped the list of states with the highest number of kidnapping incidents as 22 people were abducted in the state. Trailing it was Niger with 16 kidnap victims. Eight people were kidnapped in Taraba, six in Kaduna, five in Adamawa, four in Cross River, two in Kogi, Nasarawa, and Ondo, and one each in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, and Kano.

On Wednesday, July 22, 17 women were abducted in Zakka village of Safana Local Government Area, Katsina. Two days prior to that attack, 16 people were kidnapped in Niger State’s Rafi Local Government Area: eight in Magami and the six others in Tungan Bako. The kidnappers were reported to have gone from house to house to rob residents and abduct some of them.

HumAngle reported on Monday that many young persons in Katsina, frustrated by the frequent attacks from terrorists, have decided to join vigilante groups and other informal security outfits.

Zubairu, a young resident of Gamba, told this paper he voluntarily joined the vigilante after seeing how terrorists attacked his community, killed his people, destroyed properties, and raped their women.