A joint report by the Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities and the Joint Action Civil Society Committee under the aegis of Nigeria Mourns has revealed that no fewer than 1,545 persons have been killed by terrorists within the first quarter of 2022.
The report also disclosed that at least 1,321 persons were abducted by the terrorists between January 1 and March 30, 2022.
The North-Western states of Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi and North-Central state of Niger, have come under intense attacks by the terrorists.
They have daringly attacked the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, killing two officers and abducting one senior officer. The terrorists, numbering about 200, also invaded the Kaduna Airport on March 26, killing a Nigerian Airspace Management Agency staff member patrolling the runway.
The exchange of gunshot between the criminals and soldiers at the airport also led to the delay in the takeoff of a scheduled aircraft.
Outlining the attacks across the country, the group noted that earlier in the year, some terrorists in Kebbi State killed more than 65 persons in a single attack.
The report stated that in Southern Kaduna, within the three months under review, over 100 deaths were recorded following repeated attacks on several communities in the area.
This is in spite of the fact that Kaduna State is home to several military bases and formations, including the Nigerian Defence Academy and 1 Division, Nigerian Army Barracks and Nigerian Police College, Kaduna, amongst others.
Other attacks in the report included the siege on communities in Niger State, the ‘takeover’ of the Suleja-Abuja Road by terrorists in the past month; the increase in cases of kidnapping in the past month; and the continued killings in the South-East, which claimed many lives.
