At least 35,000 persons have reportedly been killed in Northern Nigeria and another 1.8 million others displaced in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states since 2009 when Boko Haram launched its insurgency.
This was made known by Gloria Mabeiam Ballason in a paper titled: ‘Forensic Evidence Gathering After Mass Atrocities: North East And North West Nigeria In Perspective,” which she delivered at the 5th Molluma Yakubu Centre for Medical Law and Mass Atrocities Accountability annual lecture series at the House of Justice Complex, Kaduna a copy which was obtained by Africa Today News, New York.
She revealed that, ‘According to the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (Global R2P), more than 35,000 people have been killed in Northern Nigeria since 2009 when Boko Haram launched its insurgency with at least 1.8million Internally Displaced Persons in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states’ adding that trade, commerce, health services and education amongst other transactions, had been disrupted by the insurgents.
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She continued; ‘Since 2011, violence has escalated in Central and North-West Nigeria. The states in this region include Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara. Jigawa and Kano are also in the North Central but have not really been affected. The areas which have also been heavily affected include Southern Kaduna, Taraba, Benue, Plateau, Nassarawa, Niger, Kogi and parts of the Federal Capital Territory.
‘Southern Nigeria and Eastern Nigeria are also not immune to these incidences. The initial reading of the violence was that it was rooted in resource scarcity but the large scale horrors and the sophistry of the attacks soon revealed a metamorphosing trajectory of terrorism that continues to mask under various guises.
‘For instance, in 2021, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project reported that over 2,600 civilians were killed. Between January and March 2022, at least 360 people were killed in Katsina State while over 60 civilians were reportedly killed in Dikwa local government of Borno State.
‘The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the security situation has led to a humanitarian emergency for 8.4 million people. 80% of whom are women and children requiring assistance.’
She said attacks by Boko Haram had led to mass murders, sexual violence, brutality, mass pillage and looting of livestock, money and other valuables, abductions and kidnapping of men, women and children while torture, bombings, armed assault, hostage taking, arson, ethnic cleansing and genocide also occurred.
Ballason also observed in the presentation that attacks by terrorist bandits were characterized by maiming, kidnapping and abduction of women and children, arson, raiding of farmlands and ravaging of farmlands by their livestock, murder, armed assault, hostage taking, freeing and release of detained members and warlords from correctional facilities.