…As 676 deaths recorded in 4 years
Nigeria’s increasing insecurity has been linked to the proliferation of small arms within and across the country’s borders.
Incidences of small arms have led to 676 deaths, out of a total of 130 cases between 2019 and the first half of 2024, according to a report released by SB Morgan.
Between 2019 and 2024, the country witnessed a total of 130 cases, that resulted in the death of 676 persons.
The report shows that the North- East recorded the highest number of 68 cases, which claimed a total of 508 lives.
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The report also shows that three cases were recorded in the Southwest with 50 deaths, while 10 cases in the South-South, resulted in the death of one person.
In the South-East where 29 cases of attack were recorded, 56 deaths were recorded, six cases were recorded in the North-Central resulting in 18 deaths, while 14 cases in the North-West also led to 49 deaths being recorded in the region.
According to the report, “Nigeria’s problems with In recent years, the proliferation of local arms manufacturers has enhanced the accessibility of small arms to more non-state actors including improvised explosive devices which used to mostly be found in the North-East.
“As a result, armed groups across the country, are making increasing use of IEDs, compounding an already complex security situation”.
From eight attacks recorded in 2019, the figure rose to 16 in 2020, 23 in 2021, and 37 in 2022.
The report also indicated that 42 deaths have been recorded out of the 12 attacks that have taken place in the first six months of 2024
SB Morgan’s report also indicated that the country witnessed 34 cases in 2023 and 12 so far in the first half of 2024.
The geopolitical research agency has strong interest in the area of primary data gathering, and analysis of data that provides clarity relating to political, economic and social issues in Nigeria and West Africa.
Lawrence Alobi, FCT Police Commissioner, blames the increase in small arms proliferation on poor intelligence sharing and monitoring among the security agencies.
Alobi, while calling for more commitments to tackling security challenges, also urged security operatives to be more patriotic in their approach.
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“During our time, there was better cooperation amongst relevant government agencies. We need to be more patriotic, selfless and demonstrate stronger commitments,” he said.
Alobi also berated politicians for arming militant groups and using them to achieve political power.
“These politicians encourage proliferation, by arming youths and militant groups to achieve political powers, only to abandon them
According to him, “Unless the political class agree to deal with the issues of greed in the struggle for political power, they will always resort to the use of illegal means to acquire power
“As you know, such action produces bad governance, as they end up owing no allegiance to nobody,” he added.
