One thousand, seven hundred and forty-three Nigerians were reported killed in the first quarter of 2022 owing to insecurity, according to the data sourced and analysed by TheCable Index, the data and research arm of TheCable.
This will give you a sore head: The figure surpasses the number of civilians reportedly killed in the first month of Russia-Ukraine war.
TheCable Index analysed and reviewed daily media reports published between January and March 2022 as well as data sourced from the Council on Foreign Relations.
From the data reviewed, TheCable Index found that an average of 19 Nigerians died daily in various violent attacks reported in the media from January to March 2022.
More so, 269 violent attacks were reported to have taken place in the country within the period under review and have been compiled here.
TheCable Index excluded the killings by security operatives and the death of suspected criminals like Boko Haram insurgents and bandits.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REVIEW
- In the first quarter of 2022, 269 attacks were reported.
- In the three months, 427 people were killed, with January having the highest number of fatalities at 841.
- Most people died in Niger, Kaduna, and Zamfara — in that order.
- Ekiti and Gombe had the fewest reported deaths with only one each.
- Bauchi, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Yobe reported no violent attacks.
- The states of Kaduna and Niger were targeted the most, with 31 and 28 attacks, respectively.
- The south-south zone was the safest, whereas the north-west had the most deaths.
BAUCHI, NASARAWA, ADAMAWA, YOBE SAFEST STATES; NIGER, ZAMFARA, KADUNA ACCOUNTED FOR MOST DEATHS
TheCable discovered that Bauchi, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Yobe reported no violent attacks.
Ekiti and Gombe recorded one death each resulting from one attack respectively.
Niger had the highest number of reported deaths with 448 fatalities, followed by Zamfara with 327 and Kaduna with 259.
The following is a list of states and the number of deaths recorded in each:
| S/N | STATE | NUMBER OF DEATHS |
| 1 | Abia | 18 |
| 2 | Akwa Ibom | 8 |
| 3 | Anambra | 39 |
| 4 | Bayelsa | 7 |
| 5 | Benue | 56 |
| 6 | Borno | 62 |
| 7 | Cross River | 10 |
| 8 | Delta | 17 |
| 9 | Ebonyi | 11 |
| 10 | Edo | 15 |
| 11 | Ekiti | 1 |
| 12 | Enugu | 43 |
| 13 | FCT | 3 |
| 14 | Gombe | 1 |
| 15 | Imo | 20 |
| 16 | Jigawa | 3 |
| 17 | Kaduna | 259 |
| 18 | Katsina | 65 |
| 19 | Kebbi | 91 |
| 20 | Kogi | 3 |
| 21 | Kwara | 9 |
| 22 | Lagos | 14 |
| 23 | Niger | 448 |
| 24 | Ogun | 24 |
| 25 | Ondo | 19 |
| 26 | Osun | 22 |
| 27 | Oyo | 14 |
| 28 | Plateau | 39 |
| 29 | Rivers | 4 |
| 30 | Sokoto | 9 |
| 31 | Taraba | 82 |
| 32 | Zamfara | 327 |
SOUTH-SOUTH SAFEST ZONE; NORTH-WEST, NORTH-CENTRAL LEAD FATALITY TOLL
A review of the reported deaths in the first quarter in terms of geo-political zones shows that the south-south region had the least number of deaths with 61.
According to a breakdown of reported deaths in the first quarter by geopolitical zones, the south-south region had the fewest deaths —61.
The north-west region had the most reported deaths (754), followed by the north-central region (558), and the north-east region (145).
The table below shows the number of people killed in each of the six geopolitical zones:
| S/N | ZONES | CASUALTY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North-west | 754 |
| 2 | North-east | 145 |
| 3 | North-central | 558 |
| 4 | South-south | 61 |
| 5 | South-east | 131 |
| 6 | South-west | 94 |
| Total | 1,743 |
MOST CASUALTIES WERE REPORTED IN JAN AND FEB
From the data analysed, January and February had the most reported deaths with 103 fatalities respectively. March had 63 deaths.
The monthly attacks and casualty figures are shown in the table below:
| S/N | MONTH | FREQ OF ATTACKS | CASUALTY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | 103 | 841 | |
| 2 | February | 103 | 475 | |
| 3 | March | 63 | 427 | |
| Total | 269 | 1,743 |
KADUNA, NIGER, BENUE TOP LIST OF STATES WITH MOST REPORTED ATTACKS
From the reviewed data, Kaduna suffered the most attacks with 31 incidents. This was followed by Niger and Benue — 28 and 17 respectively.
Here is a full list of states and the frequency of attacks reported:
| S/N | STATE | FREQ OF ATTACKS |
| 1 | Abia | 5 |
| 2 | Akwa Ibom | 5 |
| 3 | Anambra | 12 |
| 4 | Bayelsa | 3 |
| 5 | Benue | 17 |
| 6 | Borno | 12 |
| 7 | Cross River | 2 |
| 8 | Delta | 11 |
| 9 | Ebonyi | 6 |
| 10 | Edo | 8 |
| 11 | Ekiti | 1 |
| 12 | Enugu | 10 |
| 13 | FCT | 3 |
| 14 | Gombe | 1 |
| 15 | Imo | 11 |
| 16 | Jigawa | 2 |
| 19 | Kaduna | 31 |
| 18 | Katsina | 11 |
| 19 | Kebbi | 4 |
| 20 | Kogi | 3 |
| 21 | Kwara | 4 |
| 22 | Lagos | 7 |
| 23 | Niger | 28 |
| 24 | Ogun | 10 |
| 25 | Ondo | 10 |
| 26 | Osun | 7 |
| 27 | Oyo | 8 |
| 28 | Plateau | 12 |
| 29 | Rivers | 4 |
| 30 | Sokoto | 3 |
| 31 | Taraba | 8 |
| 32 | Zamfara | 10 |
313 REPORTED KILLINGS IN APRIL SO FAR
TheCable Index also reviewed published news reports and found 313 people have so far been killed in April as a result of insecurity.
Below is the list of reported killings by states with the highest tolls:
Anambra – 12
Benue – 25
Borno – 3
Delta – 5
Ebonyi – 31
Edo – 5
Enugu – 6
FCT – 5
Imo – 1
Kaduna – 50
Katsina – 6
Kebbi – 2
Kwara – 1
Lagos – 3
Niger – 11
Ogun -1
Osun – 1
Plateau – 125
Rivers – 7
Taraba – 8
Zamfara – 4
Jesupemi Are contributed to this data project.
Source: Top Stories