TheCable Index analysed and reviewed daily media reports published in 2021 as well as data sourced from the Council on Foreign Relations.
TheCable Index discovered that an average of 14 Nigerians died daily in various violent attacks reported in the news media from January to December, 2021.
In the data analysed for this report, 1,024 violent attacks were reported to have taken place across the country, which have been compiled here by TheCable Index.
During the process of data extraction, TheCable Index excluded the killings carried out by security operatives and the death of suspected criminals like Boko Haram insurgents, bandits and gunmen.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ANALYSIS:
- There were 1,024 reported violent attacks in the country in 2021.
- Killings were reported in all the months of 2021; May had the highest reported deaths with 684 while October had the least with 290.
- South-west was the safest zone while the north-west and north-central were the most attacked.
- South-east witnessed a sharp rise in violent attacks with 567 deaths from reported attacks.
- Kaduna had the highest number of reported attacks with 146.
- Zamfara had the highest death toll — 703
- Kano had five reported deaths from three incidents — the least among the states.
- Boko Haram insurgents, bandits, robbers, kidnappers, cultists, and gunmen were the non-state actors who killed Nigerians the most in 2021.
KANO SAFEST STATE AS ZAMFARA, KADUNA, BENUE, NIGER ACCOUNTED FOR 42% OF DEATHS
TheCable found out that Kano recorded the least number of reported deaths in the country with five deaths from three attacks.
Kano was closely followed by Jigawa with seven deaths, Abuja, the country’s capital, had 10 and Bauchi 15.
Zamfara had the highest number of reported deaths with 703 deaths, followed by Kaduna with 652 and Benue with 460.
In 2021, Zamfara and Kaduna witnessed a surge in the activities of bandits, which led to a high frequency of attacks in the two states.
TheCable observed that Zamfara, Kaduna, Benue and Niger accounted for 42 percent of the reported deaths in 2021.
SOUTH-WEST SAFEST ZONE AS NORTH-WEST, NORTH-CENTRAL LEAD CASUALTY TOLL
A review of the reported deaths in 2021 in terms of geo-political zones shows that the south-west region had the least number of deaths with 342.
In previous data on security, the south-east was regarded as the safest part of the country but in 2021, the region witnessed a sharp rise in violent attacks, which stakeholders have attributed to the activities of secessionist groups.
The north-west region recorded the highest number of reported deaths with 1,963 deaths, followed by the north-central with 1,248 and the north-east with 548.
Below is a table showing killings in the six geo-political zones:
| SN | ZONES | CASUALTY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North-west | 1963 |
| 2 | North-east | 548 |
| 3 | North-central | 1248 |
| 4 | South-west | 342 |
| 5 | South-east | 567 |
| 6 | South-south | 399 |
| TOTAL | 5067 | |
THREE ATTACKS DAILY FROM JANUARY TO DECEMBER
TheCable Index found out that an average of three attacks daily were reported from January to December with a total of 1,024 in 2021.
In terms of frequency of attacks, February and April witnessed the highest number of reported attacks with 111 each, while October witnessed the least number of attacks with 49.
In terms of reported casualties, the highest number of deaths — 684 — was recorded in May, followed by June with 601.
Below is a table showing monthly record of attacks and casualties:
| S/N | MONTHS | FREQ OF ATTACKS | CASUALTY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | 108 | 427 |
| 2 | February | 111 | 428 |
| 3 | March | 105 | 413 |
| 4 | April | 111 | 536 |
| 5 | May | 106 | 684 |
| 6 | June | 94 | 601 |
| 7 | July | 70 | 397 |
| 8 | August | 78 | 381 |
| 9 | September | 72 | 326 |
| 10 | October | 49 | 290 |
| 11 | November | 64 | 304 |
| 12 | December | 56 | 280 |
| Total | 1024 | 5067 | |
ZAMFARA RECORDED MORE REPORTED CASUALTIES THAN SOUTH-WEST
Zamfara recorded 703 reported casualties which were more than the casualty figure recorded by the six states in the south-west altogether.
Zamfara was followed by Kaduna with 652 deaths, Benue with 460 and Niger with 429.
The northern region of the country — north-west, north-east and north-central — accounted for 74 percent of the reported casualties, while the southern region — south-west, south-east and south-south accounted for 26 percent.
| S/N | STATES | FREQ OF ATTACKS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kano | 3 |
| 2 | Yobe | 3 |
| 3 | Kebbi | 4 |
| 4 | Jigawa | 5 |
| 5 | Bauchi | 5 |
| 6 | Gombe | 5 |
| 7 | FCT | 7 |
| 8 | Adamawa | 7 |
| 9 | Cross River | 8 |
| 10 | Ekiti | 9 |
| 11 | Bayelsa | 10 |
| 12 | Abia | 13 |
| 13 | Kogi | 13 |
| 14 | Nasarawa | 15 |
| 15 | Enugu | 19 |
| 16 | Kwara | 20 |
| 17 | Osun | 24 |
| 18 | Ogun | 25 |
| 19 | Taraba | 25 |
| 20 | Ebonyi | 25 |
| 21 | Edo | 26 |
| 22 | Sokoto | 27 |
| 23 | Borno | 29 |
| 24 | Ondo | 30 |
| 25 | Rivers | 31 |
| 26 | Akwa Ibom | 31 |
| 27 | Oyo | 35 |
| 28 | Lagos | 36 |
| 29 | Imo | 37 |
| 30 | Katsina | 39 |
| 31 | Anambra | 41 |
| 32 | Plateau | 46 |
| 33 | Niger | 47 |
| 34 | Benue | 55 |
| 35 | Zamfara | 57 |
| 36 | Delta | 66 |
| 37 | Kaduna | 146 |
Total 1,024
FROM 2020 TO 2021: HOW NIGERIA FARED IN TERMS OF SECURITY
According to a report by TheCable Index on the killings in 2020, 3,326 Nigerians were reported to have been killed in 735 attacks across the country. The average deaths in a day was nine.
The 2020 report when compared to the 2021 reported killings shows that there is a 52.3 percent rise in reported killings.
Average killing in a day rose from nine in 2020 to 14 in 2021 as the year saw a surge in violent attacks across the country.
TheCable Index found out there was a surge in the activities of insurgents and bandits in the northern part of the country, while gunmen and other criminal gangs carried out violent attacks in the southern part of the country.
Communal clashes and cultist activities also claimed lives in many parts of the country in 2021.
Victor Ejechi, Jesupemi Are, Idris Shehu and Kunle Daramola contributed to this data project.
