Nigeria’s worsening security crisis took a dangerous turn in October 2024 as almost 1,000 people were abducted, while over 1,500 residents lost their lives across the country.
The data is contained in the ‘October 2024 Nigeria Security Report’ by Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, BSIL, a security risk management and intelligence consulting company.
The report revealed that there’s a deterioration of security metrics of incidents, abductions and fatalities in the country, warning that the rising numbers suggested that 2024 was likely to be the worst year in security performance in about a decade.
It explained that the month under review was marked mainly by developments associated with violent activities, including killings and kidnapping for ransom mainly by non-state armed groups, criminal gangs, cult groups, and armed ethnic militias, and social unrest in the form of protests and labour action triggered by the harsh socio-economic circumstances in the country and political activities.
The security firm revealed that data collected indicated that the country recorded a 51% rise in fatalities and a 24.42% increase in abductions.
A breakdown of the report showed Nigeria recorded 861 security incidents, of which 64.92% (559) were attributed to security threats, 24.79% (215) consisted of security forces operations, and 4.99% (43) were attributed to safety incidents from October 1-31, 2024.
The country also recorded 1545 fatalities, with 67.70% attributed to civilian deaths, 25.89% to criminals/non-state armed groups, and 6.40% attributed to security forces and 971 individuals abducted.
The North East and North West regions were the most affected by security incidents, which account for 52.03% of the total incidents, respectively, while the South East reported the fewest incidents at 7.78%.
The breakdown also showed that the number of individuals killed increased from 1,022 in September 2024 to 1,545 in October 2024, indicating an increase of 51.17%.
