A Global and International Terrorism Research/Analysis group which specialises in collating data on terrorist’s activities worldwide, Jihad Analytics, has disclosed that Nigeria is the second most attacked and terrorised country in the world with Iraq being the first and Syria the third. BENJAMIN SAMSON speaks with experts on the latest report and the way out.
The disclosure which was made in its recent half year report spanning January to June 2022 indicated that while Iraq recorded 337 terrorists’ attacks, Nigeria recorded 305 attacks with Syria coming third following 142 terrorist’s attacks.
The revelation 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.
Recent attacks
The report is coming against the backdrop of repeated claims by Nigerian government officials that terrorists have been degraded, decimated and terrorism checkmated to the barest minimum. However, recent daring attacks by the terrorist group including attacks on the Owo Catholic Church in Ondo state, the train attack on Kaduna-Abuja rail line, the attack on the Kuje Medium Security Correctional Centre, Abuja, leading to freeing of 66 Boko Haram commanders among other criminals have made observers to question the claims.
The terrorists group also attacked troops of the Presidential Guards Brigade at Bwari and Zuma Rock in Abuja leading to the death of some soldiers and officers.
Concerns
Some security observers have expressed concerns about Nigeria’s ranking on the terrorism attack list, recalling that in its efforts to tackle insecurity since assumption of office in 2015, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had spent trillions of the Naira in security budgets for all security agencies.
Speaking with this reporter, the executive secretary of Security Watch Nigeria, a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Harry Osagie, said Nigeria has no business being on that list.
He said, “It’s a dangerous thing that Nigeria is ranked first in the whole world after Iraq. As we all know, Iraq just went through a devastating war immediately after the removal of Saddam Hussein, but Nigeria did not go through such.
“For that, there is no basis whatsoever why Nigeria should be in this kind of situation. It is a negative mark on the Buhari government. I am not comfortable with it and it is a pity that the global terrorism index has ranked us on the negative side.
“All I can say is that the government should note the reports and double down its efforts in order to put a permanent end to insecurity posed by terrorist across the country.”
Likewise, a security expert and lecturer, Department of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Nasarawa State University, Dr. Saidu Tesho, said the ranking was in tandem with the poor insecurity situation in the country.
Tesho said securing lives and property of the citizenry is the basic minimum duty of any government and any government that cannot provide security should not exist.
“Nigeria’s position as the second most terrorised nation on earth is a clear testimony of the failure of the President Buhari-led All Progressives Congress administration. This ignoble position we have found ourselves is a clear testimony of the failure which the APC administration has been on all fronts over the last seven years.
“It is not surprising because this is the same country where bandits overran our foremost military officers training institution, the Nigerian Defence Academy. Is it not in this same country under the watch of the APC that bandits attacked the convoy of a sitting President. Is this not the same country where terrorists are killing, raping and maiming defenseless citizens? What about the killing of innocent worshipers at the Church in Owo? That is why we appeal to Nigerians to make a better choice when voting in 2023.
“I believe that they used available data to arrive at that classification. The international community has quite some data, and it is based on those data that they must have arrived at the conclusion that we are the second most terrorised country in the world. There are a lot of things happening in this country that are not reported, especially in the North-west. The level at which Nigerians are being attacked and wiped out is unprecedented.
“So, it is now left to our government that whatever they are hiding that they didn’t want the international community to know is now known; and they should do the needful. They should put their acts together because in the long run what they are trying to cover up will come to the open; and it has started coming to the open. We pray that they change what is being done.
“So, that classification is correct as far as I’m concerned. And we need to do things right, so that we don’t continue to live in fools’ paradise and continue pretending that all is well while everything is not well,” he said.
Asymmetric warfare
However, a senior military officer who pleaded anonymity, said terrorism is not a conventional warfare and the military is doing its best to contain it.
He said: “We must reckon that in an insurgency or asymmetric operational environment such as counter-terrorism, counter- insurgency, anti-kidnapping/anti-banditry, the key terrain is not any physical space but the loyalty and perception of the people who inhabit that space.
“Also, note that counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency is not a fair fight, as the terrorists have no responsibility unlike the government and its institutions and as such, are free to employ any tricks and tactics, no matter how dastardly. So, each new asymmetric threat arises in its own context to present a fresh set of operational challenges.
“Leveraging on the experiences and gains of our involvement in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations, especially in the North-east, the successes recorded across all the theatres of operations in recent times have been noteworthy, of course, in furtherance of our constitutional imperatives to enthrone peace and security all over the country,” he said.
He added, “The Armed Forces of Nigeria is currently conducting several operations all over the country. This must not however, be misconstrued to mean that there are crises all over the country. The contemporary threat environment is such that a single terrorist or band of terrorists, even though completely isolated in remote rural places, can conduct a terrorist campaign. Terrorism by itself has far less value than the publicity that it generates.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies have continued to sustain and maintain their onslaughts on terrorists and their activities with varying degrees of successes. For as long as Nigerians continue to support the military and other security agencies through the provision of timely information on activities and movement of terrorists, the end to the current security impasse may just be in sight.”
Media
Likewise, a veteran defence correspondent and publisher of an online medium, Issa Alkali, urged the media stop giving the terrorists undue publicity.
He said, “In Nigeria propaganda videos and statements by terror groups as well as features on terror leaders are finding their way into mainstream media. We can now easily identify, for example, the faces of the major kingpins responsible for the widespread kidnappings and killings that are occurring on a daily basis in the Northern part of Nigeria, no thanks to having their pictures and videos splashed all over the pages of newspapers and on our television screens almost as if they are Nollywood A-listers.
“None of these has helped the Nigerian government to find and arrest these blood-thirsty criminals. The ‘pressure’ has also not stopped the administration from playing ostrich and finding an effective way of tackling insecurity. These are some of the public interest arguments put forward by those defending the featuring of predatory criminals on national and now international media platforms.
“The arguments also include an assertion that hearing from terrorists helps us better understand the conflicts and therefore come up with solutions. Under the guise of public interest, this is the argument that some media seems to be presenting, to justify its decision to actively give copious screen time to self-confessed murderers and kidnappers, who are still actively involved in attacking communities, killing, kidnapping, pillaging and generally making life brutish and a living hell for the people of Nigeria’s Northern states and beyond.”
Alkali said further, “The two clips released for a documentary on some television stations, titled: ‘The Bandits Warlords of Zamfara,’ feature a marauder who should remain nameless here, confirming that he was part of those who raided Jengebe Girls’ Secondary School in the state, abducting over 300 students with the attendant horror of these sorts of crimes normally entail, and releasing them, after the payment of ransom. Evidently, the television stations also had no problem utilising footage that appears to have been shot by these self-confessed criminals because this makes it into the second trailer. No media of repute would take this decision because it is generally understood that these sorts of videos are recorded by terrorists for one thing only: propaganda.
“Reports on a national newspaper also quote one of the featured criminals boasting that he only kills, and doesn’t kidnap for ransom. To be clear, the current state of insecurity and all that it entails is the fault of successive governments and the government must be held responsible for the carnage and state of anarchy engulfing the nation. That does not however mean irresponsible reporting by the media, which as champion of interest of the common man, should not be challenged. The media must stop giving undue publicity to terrorist,” he said.
Way out
Osagie urged the government to re-jig and overhaul the security system and create a workable programme. He also suggested that capable experts in the system should be given the task of providing security without nepotism.
He further advised that trained security agents should be deployed to use intelligence weapons and equipment since the current security system was hinged on intelligence.
Osagie also advised the recruitment of more security agents, noting that the number of security personnel was abysmally low compared to the country’s total population.
“Citizens must be orientated and aware of their role in peace-building. Some individuals are afraid to speak up despite knowing the identity of criminals. They must be aware that without their input, the system cannot work. In other countries, the citizens are the watchdogs. They report crimes to security agencies on the phone. Citizen Participation and security enforcement are important in peace building.”
He further urged the government to act fast before insurgents overtook the country and to also punish offenders without levity.
“The international community should as well come to our aid because Nigeria is at the mercy of crime. There is a need for their intervention to assist this nation.”
Besides, Tesho said, the recent purchase of Tucano fighter jets showed that the government was trying in its effort to curb insecurity, adding that there was no security network or improvement of any sort owing to the recent killings.
He further said the Nigerian constitution was messed up and governors who were chief security officers of their respective states had no control over the security operatives.
Tesho added that traditional rulers were closer to the people than the government, advising that they should be given responsibility for security measures.
“A security summit should be organised for traditional rulers, governors, drivers, national union of road transport workers, security agencies and other bodies for critical brainstorming and solution to the problem,” he said.
