Ending Terrorism in Nigeria

The Nigerian Army is locked in a twelve-year war with jihadist terrorists. While deaths from terrorism have declined globally in the last five years, terrorist groups and criminal organisations are expanding their operations in the country. The protracted crisis in Nigeria’s North-East region has birthed one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), people in need of urgent assistance in the North East region increased from 7.9 million to 10.6 million in 2020.

This crisis worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are about 1.9 million internally displaced persons, of which 60 percent are children. In addition, about 3.4 million people face acute hunger, and 300,000 children are at imminent risk of death due to acute malnutrition.

Data from Nextier SPD Violent Conflict Database shows that in the twelve months to September 2021, Nigeria recorded 46 terrorist attacks resulting in 435 deaths, 21 injured persons, and 17 kidnapped persons. 75.9 percent of the fatalities were civilians, while the balance of 24.1 percent were security agents.

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