Nigeria’s 2nd most terrorised country after Iraq — Report

Acclaimed Global and International Terrorism Research/Analysis group which speciallizes in collating data on terrorist’s activities worldwide, Jihad Analytics has disclosed that Nigeria is the second most attcked and terrorized country in the world with only Iraq being the first and Syria being the third.

The disclosure which was made in its half year report spanning January to June 2022 stated that while Iraq recorded 337 terrorists attacks, Nigeria recorded 305 attacks with Syria coming third following142 terrorist’s attack’s.

The disclosure by Jihad Analytics which employs global and cyber open-source intelligence and data, noted that the Boko Haram/ISWAP Terrorist group was mostly responsible for the attacks.

The report is coming against the backdrop of repeated claim’s by Nigerian government offiials that terrorist’s have been degraded, decimated and terrorism checkmated to the barest minimum.

However, recent and daring attacks by the terrorist group including attacks on the Owo Catholic Church in Ondo State, the Train attack on Kaduna-Abuja rsil line, the attack on the Kuje Medium Security Correctional Centre, Abuja leading to freeing of 66 Boko Haram Commanders among other criminal’s have made observer’s question the claims.

The terrorists group also attacked troop’s of the Presidential Guards Brigade troops both at Dutse and Zuma Rock in Abuja some soldiers and officers died.

Some Security observers have however expressed concerns about Nigeria’s ranking on the terrorism attack list recalling that in its efforts to tackle insecurity in the country since assumption to office in 2015, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had spent trillion’s of naira in security budget’s for all security agencies.

These security agencies with yearly and increased allocations include Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Police Affairs, Office of the National Security Adviser and the Police Service Commission.

Aside the yearly allocation, President Muhammadu Buhari on April 4, 2018, approved a special intervention fund of $1bn for military equipment for the purchase of aircraft and other equipment.

A breakdown of yearly allocation to the security agencies showed that in 2015 a total of N626.39billion was allocated, in 2016, it rose to N978.72billion, in 2017 it rose to N1.12trillionn, in 2018 it rose to N1.26trillion, in 2019, it rose to N1.33trillion, in 2020, it rose to N1.71trillion, while in 2021 it rose to N1.87trillion.

The proposed allocation for 2022 which has been submitted to the National Assembly is N2.27trillion, which is an inrease of 262.39 per cent from the 2015 allocation.