The northeastern and northwestern regions of Nigeria recorded the highest figures as nearly 700,000 people were killed in the country between May 2023 and April 2024, a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed.
The report tagged ‘The Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024’, revealed that 614,937 people were killed nationwide. Of this figure, 206,030 were killed in the banditry-ravaged North-west, while 188,992 people were killed in the North-east, a region plagued by years-long insurgency by Boko Haram and its splinter groups.
Blaming the killings on factors such as “socio-economic conditions, cultural norms, gang activity, organised crime and political instability,” the bureau said rural areas recorded 335,827 incidents of murder, while urban areas recorded 279,110.
