Nigeria Records more Deaths from Terrorism than Somalia, Iraq

Nigeria has the world’s highest casualty rate from terrorism -related attacks, according to Maplecroft, a UK-based risk consultancy which released its report Thursday.

Nigeria ignobly surpassed terror-ridden countries like Somalia and Iraq, no thanks to the sporadic bombings of parts of the country by Boko Haram, the radical Islamic fundamentalists..

The report entitled: Maplecroft Terrorism and Security Dashboard (MTSD), said Nigeria has the world’s highest casualty rate from “terrorism” with an average of 24 deaths per attack out of 146 recorded in the year through June.

 The report said the global average is two deaths per attack, but Nigeria recorded 3,477 deaths in those attacks as violence by the Boko Haram rages in scale and sophistication.

It said the “the increased capacity of Boko Haram is likely to lead to a further loss of investor confidence.” The current figures represent a doubling of the 1,735 deaths recorded in the previous year through June 2013, it said.    

Maplecroft also ranks Nigeria fifth in its list of “extreme risk” countries topped by Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia. 

Though more people have been killed in those countries because of more frequent attacks, the average death toll per attack has been lower than Nigeria’s, Maplecroft said.

“Significant increases in risk have been seen in other important emerging economies though.  Nigeria has moved into the top ten for the first time, due to increased activity of the terrorist group Boko Haram in the north of the country,” the report said.

It added that “the severity of this risk was highlighted by a series of attacks in Kano, northern Nigeria, on 20 January, 2012, which killed 211 people – making it the group’s deadliest attack.

Security risks in the country are compounded by the resurgence of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in Nigeria’s south, which has been responsible for a series of attacks on the oil and gas industry.”