Top 5 Deadliest Places In Nigeria

There was a period in our lives when terrorism and insurgency was alien to Nigeria, these days it has become a civil service job or you may want to call it a daily chore. No day passes by without news of Fulani herdsmen or Boko Haram attacks being reported in the media. This article lists “Top 5 Deadliest Places In Nigeria”

The Nigerian security forces have been on their toes in the past seven years due to the high spate of insecurity in the country, especially in the North-East Geo-political zone of the country. Though the present government have done quite a lot to curtail the excesses of one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world, Boko Haram, there have been renewed killings, kidnappings and social unrest in the parts of the country where the rampaging animals reign supreme.

Boko Haram achieved international notoriety in the spring of 2014 by kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls in a community in Borno state called Chibok. The group has been touted as one of the top three deadliest terrorist groups in the world.

However, there is a new dimension to it, the Fulani herdsmen who seem to be increasing in their ranks by the day are getting more menacing and pose fresh security threats. Some persons believe the Fulani herdsmen are no different from the Boko haram insurgents, albeit the former seem to be eclipsing the latter in notoriety.

Three out of the 5 places on our list were in 2016 cited as no-go areas by The United States Government. The places were Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Putting the aforementioned facts into serious consideration, our list of top 5 deadliest places mostly comprises places that have been under intense attacks by the two deadliest groups in Nigeria, West Africa and probably Africa, Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen. In addition, the locations are predominantly in the North-East Region.

Below are the “top 5 deadliest places in Nigeria”or better still, Naija’s deadliest regions:

5. Adamawa

Adamawa is located in North-East Nigeria. Just like Plateau state, Adamawa was an initially serene and tranquil location. However that status has changed. Indigenes and foreigners have deserted the north-east region of the country following series of attacks on churches, mosques and markets by Boko Haram. Thousands of people have been killed and properties worth millions have been destroyed since the bombings and mass killings began.

Fulani herdsmen also run rampage in the region. Adamawa has become home to internally displaced people with the numerous camps in the state.

4. Port Harcourt

This is the only city on this list that is in the south-south region of the country. Port Harcourt shares border with another unsafe place in Nigeria, Bayelsa. The rate of kidnappings, street/election violence, armed robbery and rape in this city is quite alarming. Hence, it just had to be on this list. Port harcourt’s inclusion on the list lays credence to the  fact that social unrest is not akin to just the Northern region of the country.

In 2016, elections were repeatedly postponed in Rivers state- a state that houses Port Harcourt on account of violence. A police man was beheaded in the heat of the violence during the Rivers state election re-run

Also, early this year, an IPOB-TRUMP solidarity rally turned violent. 11 people were killed in the violence that erupted. In fact, don’t expect anything good from any gathering of people of questionable characters on the streets of Port Harcourt.

Invariably, Port Harcourt has become a hotbed for political violence in Nigeria so we may just be right to have given it the no 4 spot.

3. Yobe

Though Yobe shares borders with the deadliest zone in Nigeria, it did not make the list by virtue of that. This blood-letting region of the country has had its fair share of the Boko Haram insurgency too with series of bomb explosions in churches, mosques and markets which have left over 7000 people dead. Some parts of Yobe state have been turned to ghost towns as a result of the insurgency.

2. Southern Kaduna

 

Southern Kaduna is a region in Kaduna state that is dominated by Christians. The region in recent times has been placed on red alert following the incessant killings of the inhabitants, with women, children and the elderly among the highest number of casualties. The destruction of lives and properties has become  a daily ritual in the region

Senator Shehu Musa, a lawmaker representing Kaduna Central constituency described the place as a slaughter house and a cemetery. He also noted that the people of southern Kaduna were being treated as outcasts.

On their own path, the people have come out to accuse the Kaduna state Government of having a hand in the crisis that has erupted in the region. ​Apparently shocked by the escalation of attacks in Southern Kaduna despite increased security measures put in place by government, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has summoned the Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, to Aso Rock Villa for explanations. 21 persons were killed early last week in fresh attacks.

 

Hundreds have been confirmed dead since the killings started in full swing on the eve of Christmas in 2016.

 

1. Borno

 

Borno is unarguably Nigeria’s deadliest location and is believed to be the headquarters of the deadly Boko Haram insurgents. The place has the highest number of casualties since the insurgency began and I sometimes wonder how the inhabitants of Borno state sleep at night.

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno, Nigeria. Responsibility for the kidnappings was claimed by Boko Haram.

In 2015, the Nigerian government moved its defence headquarters to Borno State in a bid to combat the activities of  Boko Haram. The dreaded Sambisa Forest is located in Borno state.