Insecurity: Over 6,000 Nigerians killed from January to June 2022 – Security expert

Amid rising scourging insecurity in the country, a security expert and Managing Director of Beacon Consulting Nigeria, Dr. Kabir Adamu, has disclosed that over 6,000 Nigerians have been killed from January to June 2022.

Projecting higher casualties by the end of the year, Adamu said 12,000 more Nigerians might be killed if nothing is done to curtail the insecurity.

Adamu disclosed this on Wednesday in an interview with Arise TV, monitored by Persecondnews.

The expert said: “6,000 plus Nigerians have been killed from January to June 2022. Going by the trajectory, about 12,000 Nigerians will be killed by end of the year if nothing is done to reduce insecurity and the spate of killings, and that will make 2022 the year with the highest fatality in the country.

“Last year about 9,000 Nigerians were killed, which means this year about 3,000 more Nigerians will die; it’s a very grim situation.

“We are faced with a very challenging security environment. We depend so much on the media on what the government needs to do, we need to take a certain level of responsibility.

“How do we increase the protection measures around us? I think at this stage we need to look at how we can enhance our security posture.”

On  self-defence measures when confronted with security threats, Adamu advised an app known as Citizen AID should be downloaded on the various smartphones.

“There is an app that can be downloaded on our phones; whether IOS or Android, it’s called citizenAID. It was launched in the UK, but there is the U.S. version of it and it’s applicable everywhere.

“It tells you what to do when you are confronted with a terror attack, there’s a bomb situation, active shooter or other forms of terror attacks.

“For corporate organizations, I will advise you engage experts to train your staff on what to do. There is a training we call Hostile Environment Awareness Training, it teaches every individual that attends that training what to do if you encounter a hostile situation.

“I think at this stage this is what I will definitely recommend while we wait for government to improve on what it is currently doing.

“We are in an election year, and the likelihood that insecurity incidences will increase is much more higher that it was in the pre-election year, and this is really worrisome,” Adamu also said.

On the planned attack by Boko haram and the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) on Lagos, Kaduna, Kogi, Katsina, Zamfara and the FCT, he said the development has shocked a lot of observers, as most people thought it would be difficult for them to work together due to their ideological differences.

Persecondnews recalls that standard security alerts from security agencies, recently warned that terrorists are planning to attack the FCT, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kogi and Lagos States.

The alert said the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) has mobilised fighters and high calibre weapons, particularly, Rocket propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers, Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns and General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG) which they intend to deploy for the offensive in Katsina State.

In another development, two separate bandit groups are also plotting coordinated attacks on Zamfara, Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos and FCT.

Adamu said: “This is a development that have shocked a lot of observers. They have a deep ideological difference that before now, we thought it would be very difficult for them to collaborate or partner together.

“If you look back at part of the reason why the parent body, Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, broke down into several components like the ISWAP and Ansanru, it is because of this ideological difference.

“Now surprisingly there is enough information emerging from the North-West and North-Central States that these three groups are working together.

“Now my best hope is that it is a temporary measure because they have a single objective and so they decide to work together to meet that single objective.

“In the recently concluded Eid-el-Kabir, they released an audio message where they mentioned that they are responding to a larger call from their global body. In the case of Ansanru it is responding to a call by Al-Qaeda while ISWAP is responding to a call by ISIS.

“Now that is extremely worrisome and it’s something I hope our security operatives especially the intelligence department is paying close attention to.”

On blocking access to weapons by bandits, the security expert identified three major sources of weaponry.

“On the issue of blocking their access to weapons, I did a research two years ago, my consultancy, where we identified the sources of weaponry for various access to non-military groups in the country.

“There are three major sources- the International one and this is largely attributed to the development in Libya. After what happened in Libya that we all know; the death of Gaadafi, the collapse of his government, the civil war that followed in the country, weapons that trickled into the sahel.

“The majority of those weapons are finding their way into Nigeria mainly because of our porous borders and because they are in demand Nigeria. That demand is coming from non-state actors as well as ethnic militias that exist within Nigeria.

“The second component. The second component is unfortunately from our official’s office. I hate to say this but there is enough evidence documented showing that there are elements within our security departments, especially the armory section.

“Other officials that have access to these weapons who have not kept them safely the way they should keep them, sometimes as a result of corruption and sometimes as a result of acts of negligence.

“Then there is a local manufacturing industry for weaponry that exists in Nigeria that is also supplying weapons to these non-state actors as well as terrorist groups.

“Now how can we block access to these weapons? The government has started, and there is currently an office within the office of the National Security Adviser that has the responsibility for mopping up small arms and light weapons,” the security expert explained.

“I also know that several state governors have attempted in the past to mop up these small arms and light weapons.

“We need to also answer a very important element which is within our national discourse at the moment which is the desire for state police to be functional,” Adamu said.