A new report has revealed a strategic expansion of the activities of the terrorist group, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) beyond North-East region, the epicentre of its attacks.
The report, titled: ‘Nigeria Security Report’ and released by Beacon Consulting, a security risk management and intelligence consulting company, also revealed that violent attacks, abductions and fatalities increased in September compared to August 2022, despite the momentum of ‘security forces’ operations.
According to the report, there were 528 incidents perpetrated by terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers, which resulted in 861 fatalities, 379 abductions across 185 local government areas in 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The report noted that more than previously, ISWAP “is claiming responsibility for attacks outside its traditional areas of operation to include Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. This, according to the report, suggests a strategic plan to expand its operational base outside the northeast region.
The report informed that there have been 10 reported attacks claimed by ISWAP; two each in Kogi and Niger, and one each in Abuja, Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Ondo, and the Taraba States. It showed that fatalities rose by 0.2%, from incidents recorded in August; but abductions dropped by 0.3%, while violent attacks decreased by 11.9% from 599 incidents recorded in August.
A breakdown of these incidents further indicated that 61.7% occurred in the North-East region (531 fatalities); 8.4% occurred in the North-Central region (72 fatalities); 20.1% in North-West (173 fatalities); 2.6% in South-West (fatalities 22); South-East 3.7% (32 fatalities) and South-South 3.6% (31 fatalities).
90.2% of the fatalities for September 2022 affected the northern half of Nigeria.
The figures also showed states that recorded the highest fatalities to include Borno (163); Benue (90); Kaduna (82); Niger 65 and Zamfara 42, while Ondo State recorded the highest number of fatalities in the South-West, with 55 persons killed within the period monitored. Ebonyi State recorded 28 fatalities, as the highest from the South-East region.
Since January to September 2022, there have been 3,990 violent attacks which resulted in 8,994 deaths and 4,641 abductions.
