In 2023, a total of 186 security personnel in the country have tragically lost their lives while carrying out their duties.
This includes members of the military, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Police Force.
According to The PUNCH, this statistic is based on reported incidents from January to September 2023.
The states with the highest occurrence of such incidents include Zamfara, Niger, Borno, Delta, Imo, Anambra, Benue, Enugu, and others.
Some of these incidents include the killing of three policemen at the Ebonyi-Enugu border checkpoint on January 28, 2023, and the loss of a Divisional Police Officer and two policemen in fresh herders attacks on Benue State communities on January 31.
On February 9, four military officers were ambushed and killed by gunmen in Delta State, followed by the killing of a Divisional Police Officer and four policemen by bandits in Niger State on February 11.
In Anambra State, a Police Area Command was set ablaze, and three policemen were killed on February 18. Tragically, four soldiers were among 10 people killed by bandits in Niger communities on March 15.
Furthermore, on March 18, terrorists claimed the lives of 51 vigilante members in Zamfara. On May 5, three policemen were killed by gunmen in Anambra.
In September, gunmen targeted Imo State, where eight soldiers, policemen, and others lost their lives in a series of attacks.
A security expert, Jackson Ojo, expressed concern about these incidents and called on security operatives to intensify their efforts to apprehend those responsible. He feared that failure to do so might embolden non-state actors to commit more crimes and launch further attacks.
Ojo said, “The gruesome murder of our security agents has not only become rampant but also the norm. Our security agencies should go after the perpetrators and show them the stuff they are made up of.
“This can’t happen in America; you can’t do this at the spate we have here without apprehending the culprits. Our security agents must start doing that to send a warning signal to non-state actors.
“This barbaric act without the arrest of the perpetrators is emboldening them. They must come out brutal against non-state actors. As it is, no strategy put in place by security agencies can scare them if action is not taken to curb things like this.”
