Nigeria has recorded a significant reduction in the number of terror-related deaths from 2020 to 2021, with the total number of killings falling to 448 last year, the lowest level since 2011.

The 2022 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), published by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an independent and non-profit think-tank, ranked Nigeria sixth on the index, an improvement from fourth since 2017.

RNI reporter Aisha Jamal spoke to residents of Borno State, which has been the epicentre of insurgency activities since 2009.

Muhammad Sani, a resident of Maiduguri, the capital and largest city of Borno State, said there had been a noticeable drop in the number of terror attacks in the state, even in the villages around the city.

“People can travel by road to other states without fearing for their lives. Not so long ago there were many incidences of killings, kidnappings and abduction. Insurgency attacks occurred almost on a daily basis.

He said he was grateful to the government for providing adequate security methods that had brought peace to the city and an end to the violence that abused people’s rights.

“We now sleep without hearing gun shots or explosives and we can go about and do business peacefully. I pray the security will continue.”

Usman Muhammad said he appreciated the efforts made by the Nigerian and the Borno State governments which had helped to put an end to the insurgency.

“We are living in relative peace now thanks to the government, which has made it possible for those affected by the insurgency to overcome the dire situation we experienced for many years. Then we had no peace, no business, no schools. We kept hearing about and experiencing new attacks. It was frightening. But the government has done a remarkable job of ensuring that security has been restored. We used to live in fear before. We are all just praying and hoping that peace has come to stay.”

He said even the poor who farmed on the outskirts of the city could now travel and stay in their own communities.

“Before this there were many people who had fled their lands in rural communities and had been forced by the lawless and persistent attacks to live as internally displaced persons in cities like Maiduguri or in host communities.

“Religious leaders have contributed hugely because they – and even some of the youths – have kept praying always for the insecurity to end. Peace is the greatest treasure and we all just hope it lasts forever.”

Abubakar Adamu, a public affairs analyst at the University of Maiduguri said that, according to the GTI, in 2021 there had been a reduction of terror-related casualties, which dropped by almost half compared with the previous year.

He said there were several reasons for this and attributed the relative peace to the counter-insurgency operations by the Nigerian troops, the Civilian Joint Task Forces, the police and other security agencies who had used different approaches in their efforts to wipe out the insurgents.

“Corruption, the poor educational system, poverty, neglect of cultural values and the poor judiciary system contributed to the rise of insurgents in Borno State and the rest of northeast Nigeria, where people had suffered the most and where most people were gravely affected. It was a hotbed of horror.”

Adamu said the military had identified different categories of insurgents: some were brainwashed, others fought willingly and others had been forced to fight. He commended the government’s counter-insurgency tactic which had identified criminals from non-criminals and had resulted in thousands of insurgents repenting and undergoing rehabilitation so that they could be reintegrated into their communities.

“That has also reduced the number of terror operations in the region,” he said.

He commended communities, which had undergone immense trauma and hardship by losing their loved ones during the insurgency, for accepting the repentant insurgents back into their communities. “It is difficult to allow the very people who habe most harmed and even killed your loved ones to return.”

Adamu said the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) back into their former communities, which they had fled because of persistent and deadly attacks, had also contributed to the relative peace. They had returned to their economic activities and businesses, schools and other social activities, which were now “back to normal”.

“People have conquered their fear and are resettling back into the local government areas they had fled from. Many are helping the military by providing secret information about insurgents and their whereabouts and this has helped in the fight against terror.”

Government programmes, such as NPOwer and COVID-19 grants, as well as micro-financial aid given to the less privileged, contributed to people acquiring skills and other means to make a living and had reduced the risk of insurgents recruiting people to join them.

Adamu said the government needed to pay more attention to deal with the remaining insurgency elements to protect the security of the nation.

He said even though the educational system in Borno State was undergoing positive reforms, there was a need for the public to revive cultural values for the protection of future generations.

“In the years of the insurgency, people learnt a lot of things, one of which was the need for more cooperation among citizens so that terrorists will never have the chance to infiltrate society again,” Adamu said.

• More findings by the GTI 2022:

The Sahel region is home to the world’s fastest-growing and most-deadly terror groups.

The Islamic State (IS) replaced the Taliban as the world’s deadliest terror group in 2021, with 15 deaths per attack in Niger.

The Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen, which operates in the Sahel, is the world’s fastest-growing terror organisation and was responsible for 351 deaths in 2021, a 69% increase.

The world’s most lethal terror group was the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) where, in Niger, each attack averaged 15 deaths.

Four of the 10 countries with the largest increases in deaths from terror attacks were Niger, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso.

The largest increase in terror attacks was in Myanmar, where deaths rose 23 times from 24 to 521, followed by Niger, where deaths doubled, increasing from 257 in 2020 to 588 in 2021.

Attacks by the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly known as Boko Haram, decreased significantly, with the organisation recording only 64 attacks in 2021. Deaths dropped by 92% from 2,131 in 2015 to 178 in 2021. The decline of attacks by the JAS contributed to Nigeria recording the second-largest reduction in deaths from terror attacks in 2021, with the number falling by 47% to 448.

AISHA JAMAL