More than 350,000 people including children lost to Boko Haram/lSWAP insurgents in Nigeria’s Northeast — UNDP

At least, 350,000 people including children have been killed as at the end of 2020 in Northeast Nigeria by Islamist insurgents, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It said if the conflict continues to 2030, more than 1.1 million people may die.

UNDP said the death toll as contained in its new study on the war and its impact on livelihoods is 10 times higher than previous estimates of about 35,000 based only on those killed in fighting in Nigeria since the conflict started about 12 years ago.

“The full human cost of the war is much greater,” the UNDP said in a report, released with Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance.

“Already, many more have died from the indirect effects of the conflict,” said the UNDP, citing damage to agriculture, water, trade, food and healthcare.

Nigeria’s war with the insurgents — Boko Haram and Islamic States West Africa Province (lSWAP) — has spawned one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with millions of people dependent on aid as the conflict shows little sign of ending.

“Children younger than five account for more than nine out of 10 of those killed, with 170 dying every day.

“Destruction and displacement have set back development in the region by decades, and continued conflict will only further scar the region,” the UNDP said.