Insecurity in Nigeria: 68 people killed by non-state actors last week

Killings by armed non-state actors in Nigeria continued last week with at least 68 people killed in various attacks across the country.

A majority of those killed last week (November 14 to 20) were civilians, most of whom were killed by bandits operating in the North-west region of the country.

PREMIUM TIMES compiled the incidents from media reports. Thus, unreported cases were not included.

The figure for last week indicates a decline in the number of casualties when compared to the previous week when 72 persons including two military generals were killed. All the incidents occurred in the North-west and North-east regions.

Sokoto State

Suspected armed bandits killed at least 15 people in Goronyo and Illela local government areas of Sokoto State.

Governor Aminu Tambuwal, who confirmed the attack on Monday, said 12 people were killed in Illela while three lost their lives in Goronyo.

On Thursday, Mr Tambuwal said the death toll from the attack had risen to 45. He said dozens of residents were also injured.

Also in the state, bandits Monday evening attacked a community in the Sokoto metropolis. They killed an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and vandalised the corps’ operational vehicle.

A source in Gidan Dare area of state told PREMIUM TIMES that officials at the NSCDC office had tried to repel the attack.

Still in Sokoto, the State Police Command Thursday confirmed that nine persons died in separate attacks by bandits on three villages in Sabon Birni Local Government Area.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Sanusi, told journalists that the separate attacks took place on November 15, 16, and 17.

Jigawa State

A man and his wife were shot dead in Malammadori Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

The police in the state, who confirmed the incident on Monday, said they suspect a targeted assassination.

The police spokesperson, Lawan Shiisu, said the incident occurred on November 13 at about 2:30 a.m.

Taraba State

A fresh dimension to the nation’s security challenge emerged as suspected members of a Cameroonian separatist group, known as Ambazonia, killed at least 11 persons, including a traditional ruler, during an attack on Wednesday in Manga, Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State.

Joseph Manga, an aide to Governor Darius Ishaku, told BBC Hausa on Thursday that many residents of the area were still missing after the attack by the rebels on the border community. He said the missing are feared kidnapped by the rebels.

Mr Manga said the gunmen arrived at the community around 5:30 a.m. in speedboats with sophisticated weapons, shooting at residents on sight and burning down buildings.

Imo

At least one person was killed in Imo State Saturday when police engaged a group disguised as mourners.

The Imo police spokesperson, Michael Abattam, said one of the ‘mourners’ pulled out a pistol to shoot at police officers during a ‘stop and search’ operation. He said the man was shot dead and a shootout subsequently ensued between the police and the men.

He said one of the gunmen was arrested “while others, including the motorcyclists, escaped with bullet wounds.”

The Imo killing was, however, not included in the overall tally in this report because it was done by the police.

Pro-Active Actions Needed

A security expert, Timothy Avele, told PREMIUM TIMES the killings may continue to rise if a different step and approach to tackling insecurity in the country is not taken.

He said the security agents cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

“I pray it never gets worse than this. Sadly, there’s no indication that it won’t get worse in the coming months, in as much as we keep doing things same way over and over again.

“No proactive measures through Intelligence-based policing, just reactive as usual,” he said.