Nigeria global terrorism index improves, ranks 6 – Report

Nigeria has moved to sixth position in the latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI), following successes in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents.

The country dropped two places from fourth, a position it has occupied since 2017.

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The GTI, published by an independent and non-profit think tank, the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) indicated that Nigeria, Syria, and Somalia are the only nations, among the 10 most affected by terrorism, to get an improved score from 2020 to 2021.

According to the report, there was a decline in the number of terrorism-related deaths in Nigeria.

It attributed this to the death of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, and the federal government’s efforts at defeating the group.

“Total deaths from terrorism in Nigeria fell to 448 in 2021, the lowest level since 2011. Terror-related casualties dropped by almost half compared with the previous year. However, the number of terrorist attacks increased by 49 percent between 2020 and 2021. 36 percent of attacks were claimed by ISWA, Boko Haram being responsible for eight per cent and 44 percent not attributed to any group.

“In 2020, ISWA became the deadliest terrorist group in Nigeria. The decline of Boko Haram continued into 2021, with Boko Haram responsible for only 69 deaths, a decrease of 77 percent from the previous year. This is the lowest number of deaths by the group for a decade. Boko Haram’s decline has resulted in a substantial improvement in terrorism in Borno State, which experienced a decrease of 71 percent in terrorism deaths when compared with the prior year,” the report said in part.