555 Nigerians killed in one month – Report
No fewer than 555 Nigerians have been killed and 267 kidnapped across the country between when President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29 and July 3.
These include attacks by bandits, Boko Haram insurgents, gunmen and others.
In a report by Global Rights, titled ‘Mass atrocities in Nigeria from 2019 to July 2023’, it noted that under the Tinubu administration, the North-Central geopolitical zone ravaged by banditry had been the most impacted with 312 deaths recorded in 35 days under review.
The North-West recorded 123 deaths, followed by the South-East where 66 residents were killed; 38 deaths were recorded in the North-East; in the South-South region, 11 persons were killed while at least five persons were murdered in the South-West.
An analysis of the trend of killings done by our correspondent showed that regions ravaged by bandits recorded more deaths than other regions. The North-West and North-Central had a total of 435 deaths.
The Programme Manager, Global Rights, Edosa Oviawe, said struggle for power and poverty were part of the factors fuelling mass atrocities in the country.
He stated, “Ethnic and religious divisions; political interests and power struggles; 20 million out-of-school children; 130 million multidimensionally poor; 90 million absolutely poor; 33 per cent unemployment rate and over 50 per cent youth unemployment among others are drivers of mass atrocities in Nigeria.”
A security consultant, Group Captain Sadique Shehu (retd), said the spike in non-state actors’ activities when a new government and service chiefs assumed office was not new in the country.
He called on the service chiefs to quickly map out their plans to address the situation.
Shehu, who is a former spokesperson for the Nigerian Airforce, stated, “Usually, when there is an exchange of batons either at the political level or with service chiefs, during the transition period, there is usually a lull. However, you would observe a spike in lawbreakers’ activities when the new service chiefs or political head is trying to find their footing. This has been the trend in the country. What should be done is for security chiefs to quickly draw out their plans.
“There is no doubt the former president (Muhammadu Buhari) was unable to rid the country of insecurity, although there was an improvement in the North-East. This means Tinubu is inheriting a big challenge, especially with banditry.”
He urged Tinubu to ensure he appointed a competent hand as the Minister of Defence, adding that this was an albatross of the last administration.
Shehu added, “I will urge the President to do proper supervision of the security agencies, which if I must be sincere, did not happen under Buhari. Yes, he spent more on security but did he put his eyes on it? He gave out money but did not follow the money. I will also advise him (Tinubu) to appoint a capable person as Minister of Defence. The two ministers under Buhari were powerless.” Punch
