Niger State Emerging Insecurity Hotspot; 267 Persons Killed and 396 Kidnapped in January

Data from EONS Intelligence revealed that 267 residents of Niger state were killed and another 396 persons abducted in the first month of this year.

At several times, the Buhari-led government has vowed to deal with the rising security challenges in the country and protect the lives and properties of the citizens. The state of insecurity however appears to be worsening with each of the 6 geopolitical zones dealing with multiple safety and security challenges.

In the last 12 years, Nigeria has been battling a number of security challenges. From Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgent groups, banditry to kidnappings.

In the early phase of the ongoing battle with the insurgent groups, the conflict was primarily contained in the Northeast, to be specific, Borno state. But today, the conflict seems to have metamorphosed beyond that region with heavy casualties now being recorded in other regions.

In recent times, the Northcentral region, particularly Niger State, has been severely hit by bandits. In the past 7 years, the state has been reported to be under the siege of bandits and in this period, 18 out of the 25 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state have been attacked by these bandits.

The Governor of the state, Abubakar Sani Bello recently raised an alarm about the activities of bandits in the state, stating that 7 of the 25 LGAs in the state are constantly overrun by bandits and other daredevils.

Although the Governor called for a concrete effort to deal with the threat posed by the criminal elements in the state, the call may not have yielded the results the residents of the states and other well-meaning Nigerians expected, as the state recorded the highest incidents of reported deaths and abductions in the month of January. 

The state accounted for the highest figures in both the death (267) and kidnappings (396) of residents in the country in January. 

Across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, 915 persons were killed and 571 kidnapped in the first month of this new year. 

Niger state’s January figures surpassed the total number of deaths recorded in the state in the whole of the fourth quarter of 2021.

According to the data from SMB intelligence, in the last quarter of 2021, a total of 100 deaths were reported in Niger state, making it the 5th state in the country with the highest number of reported deaths in Q4 last year. 

Now in January the number of deaths in the state at 267, has seen an increase of 167%. 

Zamfara State also recorded an increase in the number of deaths reported in January. The number of deaths increased from 144 in the last quarter of 2021 to 228 in January this year. 

Two residents, one from each state (Niger and Zamfara) who spoke anonymously to Dataphyte described an atmosphere of pain and fear in the state complaining about the increasing rate of killings in the states. 

“We live in fear here [Niger]. Our lives are in danger and almost every now and then you hear of killings or kidnappings. These are peoples’ families, brothers, sisters, and friends”, the Niger resident lamented.

The resident from Zamfara pleaded with the government to find a lasting solution to the security problems in the state as they live in great uncertainty each day, not knowing what the next minute holds for them. “Today we are alive, we can’t say what will happen to us tomorrow or even the next few minutes”, he lamented.

With increasing incidents of deaths and kidnappings among other issues, citizens need the government to adopt different and more pragmatic approaches to solving the security problems and providing a safe place for Nigerians to live and do business for both personal and economic growth.