Kenny Folarin, Abuja
Global Rights in its 2021 Mass Atrocities Casualties Tracking report has identified that 6,895 Nigerians were killed due to mass atrocities in 2021.
The Executive Director, Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu while speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday to mark the National Day of Mourning 2022 noted that there has been at least 14,641 killings as a result of mass atrocities between January 2019 to December 2021.
According to Bayeiwu, of the at least 6895 persons killed in 2021, 844 of them were state security officers which military officers killed by Boko Haram/ISWAP (277), terrorist bandits (111), Secessionist rebels in the Southwest (200), while the other are in other parts of the country, including 6051 Civilians.
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Similarly, Baiyewu added that the North-West maintained its lead in the number of atrocious killing with 2,900 persons, followed by the North Central with 1523, the North East 937, South East 707, South West with 439 and South South 391 respectively.
Baiyewu explained that abduction which remained a significant indicator of mass atrocities in Nigeria have increased exponentially as the nation tilted from at least 2002 abductions in 2020 to at least 5,663 in 2021.
She noted that other series of mass atrocities experienced across the country include killings resulting from cult gangs clash, ritual killings, and violence from prison attacks.
Baiyewu however recommended that the Nigeria’s State Institutions and governance must be strengthened, the government should invest in human development, there should be an efficacious resource governance with an improved welfare and work condition of security forces.
Others include, the reduction in arms proliferation across the country, Disincentivizing Electoral Violence, protection of civic rights and freedoms, respect the rule of law, End impunity and ensure the security of borders and ungoverned spaces.
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Meanwhile, Executive Director Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, (CISLAC) Auwal Rafsanjani on his own part noted that Nigeria has laws but our greatest challenge is impunity.
Rafsanjani Explaining noted that “if government can wake up to lapses here, it will be difficult for mass atrocities to occur, our government has not prioritize the protection of our lives and properties, if there people were involved reversed would have been the case”.
“If we keep quiet, the impunity will continue, we are not confrontational, we just want our citizens and her country to be safe”.
“You can see clearly from the report how much we are loosing as a nation and our political actors are not deterred, because of the love for corruption it has become difficult for them to protect us”. He added.