The insecurity across Nigeria got worse between 24 September and 2 October, as at least 123 people - including security personnel and civilians - were killed in various attacks by non-state actors, as reported by Premium Times. Among the counted victims, four were from security personnel, while the other 119 were civilians. Most of the killings of security personnel were mostly carried out by bandits occurred in the North-west and North-central zones, the epicentre of banditry activities.
The abovementioned week represented the highest death toll of September, since in the first three weeks there were less than 40 cases per week. However, the causes of the killings remained the same. Indeed, Nigeria is facing long-standing security challenges, which from 2019 has increased and stemmed from different sources depending on the region: militant Islamists are predominantly active in the North-East Region moving into northwestern states, while in the North-West, Central and in the South-West Region violence is related respectively to armed bandits, criminal violence and street gangs; there are also communal and ethnic clashes in the North-Central Region and Biafra separatists in the South-East. Already in the first half of 2019, according to Reliefweb, the UN described the security situation in Nigeria as ‘volatile’, with ongoing conflict due to Boko Haram’s presence, resulting in a worsening of the existing humanitarian situation and affecting population displacement and food insecurity.
RemoNews reported that President Muhammadu Buhari, in acknowledging the deteriorating security situation across the country, said that his administration has been making efforts to reverse the trend. Indeed, in a speech to mark the 61st anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, Buhari said his administration is recruiting more security personnel to address the labor shortage. The same source claims that the Nigerian Armed Forces have recruited over 17,000 people in order to support their approach to fighting banditry, while the Nigerian police force will recruit 10,000 police officers per year over the next six years.
To learn more, please visit:
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2021_06_EASO_COI_Report_Nigeria_Security_situation.pdf
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/487938-insecurity-over-120-people-killed-by-non-state-actors-across-nigeria-last-week.html
https://remonews.com/ethiopia/nigeria-insecurity-over-120-people-killed-by-non-state-actors-across-nigeria-last-week/
#LOsservatorio #Nigeria #CiviliansInConflict #BokoHaram #UN
Author Jasmina Saric; Editor Gianpaolo Mascaro
