805 People Killed in Kogi, Imo, Kwara, Other States in 2025, Details Emerge
- About 805 people were killed in less than two months as a result of insecurity and violence, according to the timeline in the Nigeria Insecurity Tracker (NIT), compiled by Dataxpat
- Further analysis by Legit.ng revealed that about 50 people were abducted in violent attacks in the first six weeks of 2025
- Nigeria, with one of the strongest armies in the region, is struggling to tackle rising insecurity that puts vulnerable groups at risk
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering security matters.
Kabba-Bunu, Kogi state - In the first six weeks of 2025, no fewer than 805 lives have been lost to violence and insecurity across Nigeria, causing tears and sorrow to families.
As reported by Vanguard on Saturday, February 15, among the dead were 28 soldiers, five police officers, and an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Source: Twitter
The newspaper said it analysed the timeline in Nigeria Insecurity Tracker (NIT), compiled by Dataxpat.
The NIT is an initiative to chronicle and map insecurity and violence based on a weekly survey of media reports. The data include violent incidents relating to political, economic, and social grievances directed at the state or other affiliated groups, or the state employing violence to respond to those incidents.
The 805 death toll is based on reported incidents and the tally may be higher because many incidents are not reported or under-reported. And abducted victims who get killed in kidnappers’ dens are not tallied.
In the second week of January 2025, the military stated that troops neutralised 156 terrorists and apprehended 464 suspects. And in the 31 days of January, the military said that troops eliminated 358 terrorists and arrested 431 suspects.
In the first six weeks of 2025, killings by non-state actors occurred in several provinces, including Kogi, Osun, Imo, Kwara, and Niger state. Some of these murders were linked to domestic violence.
Experts offer ways Nigeria can improve security
Meanwhile, Matthew Page, an associate fellow in the Chatham House think tank’s Africa Programme, said the Nigerian armed forces are capable but spread thin, performing too many internal security tasks that should be the responsibility of the police.
Speaking during an expert panel hosted by the Brookings Institution, Page encouraged “sustained, high-level political will and a president capable of planning and seeing through a programme of security sector reform designed to overcome resistance from the security sector.”
Idayat Hassan, director of the Lagos-based Centre for Democracy and Development, advised “a shift in mindset from symptom to cause and an immediate investment in peacebuilding initiatives along [ethnic and religious] fault lines.
Shehu Sani speaks on banditry, terrorism
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Shehu Sani, a former senator from Kaduna state, addressed the difference between banditry and terrorism.
Senator Sani disclosed this while speaking on a space on X created by Legit.ng.
The northern politician said while terrorism entails the premeditated use of cruelty by an ideologically motivated individual or group, banditry refers to financially motivated armed violence perpetrated by gangs.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
