FIJ
The Feminist Womanifesto Group, a collaborative movement of women civil society organisations, has compiled a detailed list of names of hundreds of ordinary citizens who have been lost to insecurity in the last 10 years.
The list contains details of victims of insecurity in the 36 states of the federation, and the circumstances in which they lost their lives.
Most of the names on the list, the group said, are from SBM Intelligence — a leading Nigerian geopolitical research consultancy. SBM Intelligence had gathered data from reliable sources such as the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), the Council for Foreign Relations’ Nigeria Security Tracker, the United State Department’s report on religious violence in Nigeria titled ‘Nigeria Silent Slaughter: Genocide in Nigeria and the Implications for the International Community’ and several media reports.
In a statement titled ‘Nigerian Women’s Call: End the Insecurity and Bloodshed’, the group x-rayed how the lives of Nigerians have been endangered for several years due to government failure and ineptitude.
According to the statement, Nigeria’s security forces are stretched, dogged with allegations of corruption and human rights abuses, while the country is saturated with small arms and light weapons in the midst of economic recession, unemployment and food insecurity.
“Violence is raging in Abia, Benue, Imo, Kebbi, Niger, Ondo and Oyo due to non-state actor violence, insurrection, the proliferation of weapons, farmer-herder conflict and state security operations,” a statement by the group read in part.
“The death of Shekau and Idris Deby, former President of Chad, herald the terror of a more organized Islamic West Africa Province and hundreds of thousands are displaced from their homes and means of livelihood while women and children are being captured, raped and indoctrinated into a life of violence.”
More than 4,556 Nigerians were killed in 2020, especially in the restive northeastern part of the country, according to the 2020 Mass Atrocities Report by Global Rights Nigeria.
In the first quarter of 2021, over 220 kidnapping incidents were recorded with at least 2,114 victims, the Nigeria Security Tracker has stated. In the same first quarter of 2021, over 600 schools were shut down across six states in the North.
With the hashtag #SecurrOurLivesNow, the Feminist Womanifesto Group is asking the government to reform community policing and security and ensure transparency and accountability on security spending, among other demands.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL VICTIMS’ LIST
Connect with us on our socials: