President Muhammadu Buhari
Nigeria drops to 6th on Global Terrorism Index
Nigeria has dropped to sixth in the latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI).
The country was previously on 4th, a position it occupied since 2017 on the back of a rise in insurgency by terrorist groups operating in the North East region.
This was disclosed by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) in an index that indicated that Nigeria, as well as Syria, and Somalia are the only nations, among the 10 most affected by terrorism to get an improved score from 2020 to 2021.
“Total deaths from terrorism in Nigeria fell to 448 in 2021, the lowest level since 2011. Terror-related casualties dropped by almost half compared with the previous year. However, the number of terrorist attacks increased by 49 per cent between 2020 and 2021. 36 percent of attacks were claimed by ISWA, Boko Haram being responsible for eight per cent and 44 percent not attributed to any group.
“In 2020, ISWAP became the deadliest terrorist group in Nigeria. The decline of Boko Haram continued into 2021, with Boko Haram responsible for only 69 deaths, a decrease of 77 percent from the previous year.
“This is the lowest number of deaths by the group for a decade. Boko Haram’s decline has resulted in a substantial improvement in terrorism in Borno State, which experienced a decrease of 71 percent in terrorism deaths when compared with the prior year,” the report, which was published on Wednesday, read.
“Attacks in the state also decreased from 121 to 86 respectively, a decrease of 30 percent. The state, however, remains the hardest-hit region in Nigeria for terrorism, accounting for half of all terror-related deaths in 2021.
“Boko Haram’s decline coincides with a number of factors, most significantly the death of the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau. Shekau committed suicide by detonating an explosives vest during a confrontation with ISWA in May 2021.
“Given the demise of their leader, Shekau’s followers were faced with the decision to either continue Shekau’s ideology or join ISWA. It has been reported that as many as former Boko Haram commanders have joined ISWA after Shekau’s death.
“Attacks by ISWA as well as counter-terrorism efforts by the Nigerian government and foreign military forces have significantly weakened Boko Haram’s impact in Nigeria.”
