By Okey Ndiribe
For over a decade, Nigeria has become West Africa’s largest river of blood flowing from her citizens who are victims of the daily massacre. More worrisome is the fact that this red river which has already submerged parts of the country is threatening to drown the entire nation. The scenario which emerged from NOHR research into the ugly phenomenon is alarming. For starters, media reports indicate that at least 56,948 persons have been killed in Nigeria between January 2015 and May 2022. Indeed, life in the land which at independence earned the sobriquet “Giant of Africa” has become a manifestation of the Hobessian State of nature; short, nasty, and brutish. The scale and magnitude of killings that have occurred in the country during the period under review are comparable to the loss of lives in the earlier fratricidal civil war between 1967 and 1970. After the civil war, which some scholars insist was the fall-out of a previous genocide in the country, Nigeria enjoyed relative peace for over three decades.
However, the situation changed about a decade ago with the emergence of Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, better known as Boko Haram- a deadly terrorist group from the northeast. The terrorist organization engaged in systematic and targeted mass killings never before witnessed in peacetime. The killings were virtually daily. Many churches and other public places were targeted and countless lives were lost in ruthless killings. While the Nigerian Government had been battling the Boko Haram insurgency since about 2009, the internecine massacre escalated in 2011 shortly after President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office. Just as the beginning of President Goodluck Jonathan’s new tenure marked an escalation in the campaign of terror waged by Boko Haram terrorists, so also made killings by herders soar shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn into office on May 29, 2015. In comparison, available evidence shows that killings by bandits later surpassed those of Boko Haram. Unlike the Boko Haram insurgency, which was largely restricted to the Northeastern part of the country, the violent campaign of armed bandits spread to all parts of Nigeria. The attacks by bandits, without doubt, became the most potent threat to national security in the last couple of years. These attacks in almost all cases were characterized by a high casualty rate and massive displacement of communities.
Scary Statistics
Alongside the killings by non-state actors, the military and security forces have also been involved in the mayhem which has bedeviled the Southeast part of the country. Indeed, records of mass killings that have taken place in Nigeria in the last decade are not easy to quantify. However, there are a few indicators. One of them is the global terror index which lists Nigeria’s herders as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world. There is abundant evidence to show that in the past seven years, mass killings by herders, Boko Haram, bandits, and state security agencies increased in leaps and bounds. For instance, media reports indicate that 25 794 people were killed in various attacks during the first tenure of Buhari between 2015 and 2019. According to available data by the Nigerian Security Tracker, a project of the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, Africa program which documents violence in Nigeria, “104 mass killings, with at least 20 causalities per case, occurred between January 2020 and July 25, 2022. At least 3,895 people were killed in these 104 cases.” In addition, there are hundreds of unreported killings in the country. Analysis of the data showed that the highest number of killings during Buhari’s first term occurred barely a month after he assumed office, with 1 299 deaths. The daily carnage in the country climbed again to the peak in January 2019 with 1077 deaths.
The report also showed that Boko Haram mowed down at least 5,598 Nigerians between 2015 and 2019 while bandits massacred 4068 people. The Military, Police, and other security agencies reportedly killed over 4000 Nigerians during the period. Another indicator is the 2022 Global Peace Index which ranked Nigeria 143 among 163 independent nations, according to the level of peacefulness.
According to Global Rights, a Nigerian NGO tracking mass atrocities in the country, “There have been, at least, 14,641 deaths as a result of mass atrocities between January 2019 and December 2021. The number of deaths steadily increased by 116.28 percent from 2019 to 2021.”
The group said in a report on ‘Mass Atrocities Tracking across Nigeria for 2021′ carried out by the organisation, recorded that 6,895 people were killed in 2021 alone. The figure was 50 percent higher than the 4,556 deaths recorded by the organisation in 2020. The report also said that ritual killings and cult-gang violence had become a fast-growing trend in Southern Nigeria
The year began on a gruesome note for the country as bandits killed over 200 people in Zamfara State.
The killings were reprisal attacks by bandits after military air strikes against them a few days earlier. The killings came a few days after 30 people were killed in the Anka Local Government Area of the state. A staggering number of deaths was recorded within the first three weeks of 2022 when at least 486 people were killed nationwide. Media reports also showed that at least 2,968 people were killed in the first three months of 2022. Last April, over 150 people were killed in Kanan and Wase communities in Plateau State. Apart from Plateau, other states that witnessed mass killings during the period included Ebonyi (26) and Benue (23). The victims also included four police officers. Detailed records show that between April 10 and 16, 2022, armed non-state actors killed at least 215 people in various attacks across the country. This implies that an average of 30 people were killed daily by armed persons during this period. On May 6, 2022, bandits attacked some Zamfara villages, including Kalache, killing no fewer than 48 residents. In June, the nation was also thrown into more mourning when gunmen attacked St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State. The state government said 40 people were killed and 127 others injured.
The Southeastern part of the country has also been turned into a killing field since 2015.
Recently, an Anambra State-based human rights group released a report which revealed that hundreds of people had been butchered in the region in the past 14 months.
The report released by the International Society For Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) showed that the Army and Police massacred over 1400 persons over a period of 14 months. Another 1000 persons who were arrested have disappeared while in the custody of various security agencies during the period. The report, which covered the period October 2020-December 2021, was signed by Chief Emeka Umeagbalasi, the head of the organization.
It would be recalled that in 2017, Amnesty International published a similar report which chronicled the killings of hundreds of members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra carried out by the Army, Police, and Department of State Service.
NOHR findings presented a frightening picture. A brief chronology of the ongoing massacres – which merely gives an idea of the tragic events of the last seven years -is shown below. In the first week of January 2015, over 2000 persons were believed to have been killed after Boko Haram stormed Baga and 16 other towns in Borno State. The estimate of casualties was given by a District Leader named Musa Alhaji Bukar, who spoke to the British Broadcasting Corporation at the time. Many survivors of the attack fled into the nearby waters of Lake Chad, where some drowned and others remained marooned on small islands where they faced attacks by wild animals. In February 2016, over 500 people were killed and 7000 displaced in an attack by herders in the Agatu local government area of Benue State. Over seven villages were razed during the attack. About a month earlier, 30 persons were slaughtered in the Girei Local government Area of Adamawa State. Among the dead was the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Vunokilang Police Station. The killings occurred during raids of four villages by herdsmen. The villages were: Demsare, Wunamokoh, Dikajam and Taboungo.
Reports showed that between 2017 and 2020, herdsmen conducted 654 attacks, killed 2539 persons, and kidnapped 253 persons. The report titled, ‘Working Document — Fulani Militias’ Terror: Compilation of News (2017-2020) also stated that at least 967 persons were killed by Boko Haram that year. In 2018, 2080 persons were killed by terrorists. But herders reportedly killed more Nigerians than Boko Haram. In 2019, 626 were killed during the general election. Suspected Boko Haram insurgents in February 2020 killed more than 30 travelers at a roadblock in Auno town, Borno State. In March 2020, bandits killed 51 residents in Kaduna, while 48 persons were killed in an Adamawa communal clash in May 2020. In the same month, the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, had vowed to deal with bandits after 74 people were killed during an attack on Garki, Dan Aduwa Kuzari, and Katuma communities in the state. The attack came two days after the governor and top security chiefs in the state engaged traditional rulers and other stakeholders in the area. In November 2020, more than 110 rice farmers were killed by Boko Haram insurgents at Zabarmari, Borno State.
Surging Violence
The surge of violence has been concentrated in Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, and Nasarawa State in the North Central geopolitical zone and Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and the Taraba States in the Northeast zone. Zamfara State is also a major victim of violence in the North-West zone. In response to the situation, the Federal Government seems to have been selective in tackling the activities of killer gangs in different parts of the country. Only the North-East and Southeast regions of the country have attracted the Government’s heavy-handed response in handling the activities of violent groups. Despite the recurrent deadly attacks by herdsmen on various communities across Nigeria, the Federal Government–which exclusively controls the country’s security apparatus- has hardly taken decisive actions to checkmate the bloodbath.
Consequently, insecurity currently reigns in many parts of Nigeria. The recurrent killings of innocent persons across Nigeria by terrorists and herders, their attacks on communities/villages, and their kidnapping activities are all within the purview of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 (as amended). But the Government seems to have done little to arrest and prosecute the violent herders, one of the drivers of the violence; nor sanction organizations like Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore who have provided justifications for the killings. Instead, the government insists that the herdsmen are mere criminals, not terrorists.
Irrespective of whatever view the Nigerian Government may hold, the sanctity of human life is guaranteed under section 33(1) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), which provides that: “Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offense of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.” Relevant laws in Nigeria also stipulate the circumstances under which a person could be deprived of his life. Firstly, “For the defense of any person from unlawful violence or for the defense of property…”; Secondly, “To effect a lawful arrest or to prevent a person from escaping from lawful custody; Thirdly, “If a person is killed in the course of security operations to suppress a riot, insurrection or mutiny.”
Similar provisions can be found in Article three of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) 1948, Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, and Article four of the African Charter on Human and peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 1983. Nigeria is a State Party to these international/regional instruments and their provisions are binding on the country. In effect, the right to life of a Nigerian citizen as well as those within the territory of Nigeria is derived from multiple sources, including the Nigerian Constitution.
From the criminal justice perspective, the recurrent killings of human beings across the country violate the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) as well as the Criminal/Penal Code Act provision, which protects the sanctity of life and prohibits the unlawful killing of any person. Perpetrators of unlawful killings commit the offense of murder. Moreover, some of the attacks fall within the definition of the offenses of arson, assaults, and terrorism.
However, while all of these crimes are enforceable only within the country, there is also a likelihood that the attacks may qualify as the international crime of genocide and crimes against humanity which could be tried in foreign jurisdictions as well. Besides, the herders’ attacks may also incur civil liabilities such as trespass to land and properties. While there were few reported arrests of violent herders by security agencies, NOHR could not find instances where they were successfully prosecuted for their involvement in the widespread killings.
Climate of Impunity
The Federal government, in its response, said it is doing everything possible to address the insecurity problem across Nigeria. Speaking during a joint press conference earlier this month, Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, said the federal government is working to end the nation’s security challenges by December 2022.
“Nigerians have the assurance of all of us that their security is guaranteed. So, we’re here to assure you that you’re safe; that is why we’re here on the president’s instructions that you’re safe and that each day going to December, our safety and security will be better,” he said.
Also speaking on behalf of the federal government, the Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd) told newsmen that the Nigerian government has put Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country on the run. He claimed that the military and other security agents have been able to contain the country’s daunting security challenges, insisting that “the worst is indeed over.”
Nigeria awaits December 2022 to find out if indeed the worst is over.
