Abuja — Between January and March 2023, no fewer than 1,230 persons were killed, including 79 security personnel, and over 658 abductions took place across Nigeria.
This was contained in a report by a civil society organization, Global Rights, entitled: "1st Quarter Mass Atrocities Casualties Tracking Report" obtained by Saturday Vanguard in Abuja.
In what has been an unfortunate trend in the data collated in the first quarter of 2023, banditry remained the largest cause of violent deaths across the country with 29.27 percent (360 deaths) while an existing threat is the rise in extra-judicial killings and herdsmen related killings which constitute about 10.08 percent and 13.65 percent respectively with at least 124 and 168 deaths each.
According to the report, Boko-Haram/ISWAP-related atrocities constituted 22.11 percent (at least 272 deaths). Political killings mostly due to the recent 2023 General Elections claimed at least 7.72 percent constituting at least 95 deaths.
A further look into the report showed that secessionists' violent campaign mostly in the Southeast part of the country contributed 6.75 percent representing at least 83 deaths while cult clashes took 4.96 percent, which amounted to 61 deaths. Isolated attacks, mob attacks, armed robbery and communal clashes took the remaining 5.45 percent with a combined data of at least 67 deaths. This summary indicates an alarming increase in the activities of Boko-Haram/ISWAP in recent times, extra-judicial killings mostly perpetrated by security personnel and herdsmen activities by mostly Fulani herders.
According to the report, in the first quarter of 2023, 6.42 percent of all lives lost to violent killings were security personnel numbering at least 79 security operatives killed across Nigeria while the remaining 93.58 percent of lives lost violently are those of civilians numbering at least 1,151 deaths.
Data on the brazen killings of security operatives is further divided into para-military: Police was pegged at 54 deaths constituting 68.35 percent, NSCDC, 10 deaths representing 12.66 percent and Military, at least 15 deaths accounting for 18.99 percent. With 54 lives lost, Police lives lost in the first quarter of 2023 constituted the highest losses among security operatives.
North tops chart of violent incidents
In examining the disaggregated data on violent incidents in the first quarter of 2023, the report confirmed the popular opinion that each region of Nigeria is beguiled by a peculiar type of violent incident.
While there was slight overlap in certain cases, overwhelming evidence from the data collated suggests that more often than not, violent deaths in a particular region can be attributed to the brand of violence associated with the region.
Overall, more violent incidents were recorded in the Northern part of the country than the South. Of the 1,230 deaths recorded, there were at least 932 violent killings in the North representing 75.77 percent of the total killed; in contrast to the South where at least 298 were killed representing 24.23 percent of the recorded figure.
An in-depth breakdown of the data further reveals that Banditry and Boko-Haram/ISWAP are a form of terror up North that contributed the largest number of victims, with the North-Central suffering the heaviest number of casualties (at least 331 killed) due to mostly Herdsmen activities in Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa States.
While the Northeast had at least 312 casualties, the Northwest had 289 casualties. In the South, however, a combined 140 deaths in the Southeast were attributed mostly to violent secessionist activities, South-South had at least 88 killed while 70 were recorded killed in the Southwest.
Banditry and Boko-Haram/ISWAP evolving terror front in Nigeria
As revealed in the report, "banditry and Boko-Haram/ISWAP remained Nigeria's largest source of violent killings in the first quarter of 2023.
"The evolving security situation in the North is evidence of a failure in governance and a testament to the incompetence/inadequacy of Nigeria's current security architecture.
"The gradual rise of this new wave of banditry in Northern Nigeria can be traced to a few years back when observers and researchers in the country started sounding the alarm on the rising level of bandit attacks in the North-West.
At the time some reports from the North showed that banditry was deteriorating into a "complex national emergency" which could cause serious territorial problems, and they noted that the situation in the region (North-West) was reminiscent of the rise of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Call to Action
From kidnappings and ransom demands, banditry has risen to become the premier cause of violent deaths across Nigeria while Boko-Haram/ISWAP continue to pose their own threat down North.
The situation requires immediate attention and collaborative efforts from all stakeholders to restore peace and stability in the affected regions.
For the first 3 months of the year 2023, bandits and Boko-Haram/ISWAP have killed more civilians than any other terror groups combined, making banditry the biggest threat to Nigerian lives in recent times.
While they may not operate as a united front or in the typical manner that violent extremist groups do, the facts prove that banditry is Nigeria's new face of terror.
Generally, there was a reduction in the number of lives lost to violent killings and abduction for ransom in the first quarter of 2023 compared to what was recorded in the previous years.
