Insecurity: 41 People Killed By Gunmen Across Nigeria Last Week

The general insecurity in Nigeria still persisted last week as at least 41 persons were killed in various attacks by non-state actors across the country.

The victims included one personnel of the State Security Service (SSS) and 40 civilians.

The figure, collated manually from media reports, does not contain unreported cases.

The figure also represents a decline in the killings in the country by over 50 per cent, compared to the previous week where 123 persons were killed.

It also signifies a decline in casualties on the part of security agencies. Four security personnel were killed the previous week.

Most of the killings for the week in view were carried out by bandits in the North-west while one case was suspected to be carried out by IPOB separatists.

Below are the cases compiled from media reports last week:

Zamfara

No fewer than 18 people including men, women and children were killed by a suspected group of armed bandits in a fresh attack at Kurya Madaro Town of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area in Zamfara State.

A resident of the area, Mohammed Kurya, who narrowly escaped from the attack, said in an interview in Gusau on Wednesday that the bandits stormed the town around 11:30 p.m on Tuesday.

He added that the bandits included men and women who rode camels and horses with dangerous weapons.

Katsina

Armed bandits on Tuesday morning killed 10 people and injured several others in an attack during which they also burnt shops and houses in Yasore community in Katsina State.

A resident of the area, Harisu Hamza, said the attackers came on motorcycles and started shooting sporadically.

Sokoto

Gunmen suspected to be members of the outlawed Yan Sakai, a vigilante group in Sokoto State, killed 11 persons, including an Imam, at Mamande village in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The report gathered that the victims died on the spot while four persons who sustained gunshot injuries were taken to a hospital by an official of the local government council for treatment.

Imo

An operative of the SSS identified as Prince Nwachinaemere Ozuzu was killed while on official duty in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

The details of how he died are still sketchy but it was gathered that the operative was deployed for an assignment in Anambra State, shortly after the SSS office in Nnewi was razed.

He was, however, murdered while he was returning to his duty post.

Security Expert reacts

A security expert, Davidson Akhimen, while responding to questions on how the government should tackle bandits and why killings are dominant in the North-west region, said it is so because the bandits are frustrated.

Bandits and Security Threats
He added that the killings are done to get back at the government because the telecommunications shut down has affected the operation of the bandits.

“I think the government is already working in the right direction especially by disconnecting the digital connection that allows bandits and kidnappers to communicate with the relations of their victims.

“So it puts them in disarray and they will not be able to communicate between themselves and coordinate their activities, I think that is a very big step that the government has taken and as a result they have been recording successes.

“The killings you are seeing now is as a result of fury on the part of the bandits, seeing that the government has already gotten a hand on the matter so annoyance, fury is what is leading them to kill their victims. But this is going to be short lived as government forces are pressing harder towards achieving total victory,” he said.