A NEW report from a security consulting firm has claimed that no less than 612 Nigerians were killed in the month of August across 103 local government areas in 29 states in the country.
Put together by Beacon Consulting Company, an Abuja-based firm that offers security advisory services, and released yesterday, the report noted that most of the victims were killed by gunmen and kidnappers in various armed and violent crimes, and bomb attacks in Borno, Yobe, Kwara, Niger, Kogi, Plateau, Nasarawa, Federal Capital Territory, Benue, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kaduna, Rivers, Delta, Ebonyi, Imo, Osun, Ondo and other states.
The report, however, acknowledged that there has been a reduction in the number of fatalities since the June figure which stood at 1,032; the highest for the year.
The report was presented at a news conference by the Managing Director of Beacon Consulting, Kabir Adamu, and part of it reads:
“In August 2021, we recorded a diverse range of security incidents and a total of 612 fatalities in 29 states across 103 LGAs.
“The August figure of 612 represents another marked reduction in the number of fatalities since the highest for the year, 1032, in June 2021.
“The thematic indications of the incidents that resulted in these fatalities include armed attacks and a continuation of the trend of several non-state actors successfully challenging the state’s monopoly of the use of force.
“Findings suggest that for the reporting period, 76 per cent of kidnappings in schools happened in 2021 while 48 per cent of all abductions during these events also took place in 2021.
“Overall, 88 per cent of these events happened in northern Nigeria.
“The region has been afflicted by conflict fueled by clashes over access to land and resources, among other factors.
“At least seven states in northern Nigeria have shut schools due to the rise in abductions and banditry in 2021,” the report noted.
