A report released on Friday by an organisation that monitors the activities of terrorists and insecurity in Nigeria, the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), has revealed that in the 10 months that President Bola Tinubu has been in office, no fewer than 6,931 persons, including security personnel, have been killed.
In the report, the NST, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Africa programme, which documented and mapped violence in Nigeria motivated by political, economic or social grievances during the period, stated that the death toll include the 17 soldiers who were killed by youths on a peace-keeping mission in Okuama community in Bomadi local government area of Delta State on March 14.
The report also noted that as a result of the Okuama crisis, 67 “souls” have been lost to reprisal attacks by soldiers out to avenge the killing of their colleagues who included a Lieutenant Colonel, two Majors and a Captain and other rank and file soldiers.
The NST report also compared the first 10 months of immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari and that of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan and noted that the killings under Tinubu has overtaken those under the two previous regimes in the same period under review.
“In the first 10 months of President Muhammadu Buhari from May 2015 to March 2016, Nigeria lost 6,356 people to insecurity,” the report said.
“In former President Goodluck Jonathan’s first 10 months as elected head of state, May 2011 to March 2012, insecurity claimed 2,059 lives.
“But in President Bola Bola Tinubu’s first 10 months from May 2023 to March 2024, not less than 6,931 lives have been lost in Nigeria.
“In all, the figures are conservative because some killings are under-reported or not reported. In January 2024, troops killed 266 terrorists and bandits in operations across the country. In February 2024, troops neutralised 974 terrorists.
“In the last two months, the Chairman of Benue Ethnic Leaders and President General of Mzough U Tiv, MUT, Worldwide, Chief lorbee Ihagh, claimed that herdsmen militia had killed no fewer than 147 persons in various attacks on Benue communities.
“As of March 21, no fewer than 432 lives had been lost to insecurity in the third month of the year.
“Recurring bandits’ attacks in Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Kebbi and many North-East and North-Central states have led the deaths and kidnap of thousands of people.
“The South-East states where unknown gunmen are wreaking havoc are not spared. So also states of South-South and parts of South-West where criminal gangs and armed herdsmen operate.
“Disturbed by the killings in different parts of the country, the National Assembly has held many meetings with the security chiefs and President Tinubu had repeatedly ordered the security chiefs to halt the trend.
“However, it is yet to be seen if these moves would yield the desired results in terms of security of lives and property of Nigerians,” the NST report said.