Sept. 8, 2021

No fewer than 7,414 persons have died in Nigeria due to violent clashes, including attacks from Boko haram, other terrorist groups, abductions and gang clashes between January and August 2021, according to Secure Our Lives, the group of women and civil society organisations working to place women at the forefront of a national call for increased accountability on the security of lives and property in Nigeria.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), insecurity in Northern Nigeria has persisted as Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), continue to launch attacks against civilian, humanitarian, and military targets.

HRW further reports that trials for hundreds of suspected Boko Haram insurgents slated for February 2020 in Maiduguri were postponed until further notice, following previous delays in January and in December 2019. Boko Haram suspects last faced trials in July 2018.

“Most of the more than 200 defendants in the July 2018 trials faced charges of material and non-violent support for Boko Haram, and some had been detained since 2009. The trials were fraught with irregularities including lack of interpreters, inadequate legal defense, lack of prosecutable evidence or witnesses, and non-participation of victims”.

While many believe that the current Federal Government is only paying lip service to the issues of insecurity in the country and do not have the political will to address the situation bedeviling the nation, the government has continued to express its willingness, making promises to tackle the issues headlong.

President Buhari on Tuesday met with Security Chiefs to receive a report on the ongoing fight against bandits and insurgents across the country, especially in the North West and North Central.

He urged the Service Chiefs to “find tactics to solve the security challenges”, but citizens have continued to demand more from the government, who they perceive as favouring the bandits and insurgents who have continued to kill and maim citizens.

The President reiterated the urgent need to deal with the bandits, who according to the security chiefs, are becoming a nuisance, killing and making reckless pronouncements to solicit attention.

Releasing some verified names of those killed due to insecurity in the country (Data from SBM intelligence and Desk Research), and with 725 security personnel killed within an 8-month period Secure Our Lives believes, it is “time to honour the dead and unify our voices to demand that the government secure our lives” by demanding for the reform of community policing, setting up of early warning mechanisms; daily security briefing by the government; transparency and accountability on security spending and a national response to kidnapping in the country.

Report by: Theresa Igata