Between May 15 and May 16, Kubwat and Fungzai villages in Plateau State’s Mangu Local Government Area, LGA, served as slaughter fields for two protracted nights. No fewer than 100 people, mostly women and children, were slain when terrorists wreaked havoc on the villages by burning down homes and food supplies.
50 bodies have been found thus far. As of the time of publication, people were still fleeing the overrun settlements in great numbers for safety in Mangu town and other nearby areas, so the death toll could increase.
In the previous four months, 200 people have been killed in the Mangu/Bokkos Federal Constituency, according to Solomon Maren, the congressman who represents the area in the House of Representatives.
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The 100 lives lost in Mangu are part of the 63,111 fatalities that have occurred since May 29, 2015, when outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari took office.
The deaths, according to information from the Nigeria Security Tracker, NST, an initiative of the Africa program of the Council on Foreign Relations, were caused by terrorism, banditry, fights between herders and farmers, communal crises, cult battles, and extrajudicial killings among other things.
The NST documents and maps violence in Nigeria that is motivated by political, economic or social grievances. “Different groups in Nigeria resort to violence. The militant Islamist movement Boko Haram is active in northern Nigeria. Violence among ethnic groups, farmers, and herdsmen sometimes acquires religious overtones. A new generation of Niger Delta militants threatens war against the state. Government soldiers kill civilians indiscriminately. Police are notorious for extra-judicial murder,” it said.
Due to the inclusion of only recorded cases from numerous sources, the total death toll of 63,111 is conservative. Additionally, many cases go unreported or are documented insufficiently.
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Thus, rather of being considered absolute, the NST data should be considered suggestive.
No less than 98,083 Nigerians had died since the NST began collecting data on May 29, 2011, the day former President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in.
According to the NST, there had been 34,972 fatalities in Nigeria as of May 29, 2015, the day President Buhari took office. As of May 16, 2023, there has been 98,083 deaths since that time.
Since 2015, Nigeria recorded the least killings in 2017 when 4618 persons died and the worst in 2021 when 10575 lives were wasted (see table).
However, the death tolls have been going down since 2022 when 9079 deaths were recorded.
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How 63,111 Nigerians were killed in 8 years under Buhari
Year Deaths
2015 5556
2016 5763
2017 4618
2018 6565
2019 8340
2020 9694
2021 10575
2022 9079
2023 2921
Total 63,111
*Killings between June and December 2015
**As of May 16, 2023
Timeline of killings in May 2023
*May 1: Bandits killed two and abducted four in Zaria, Kaduna.
*May 1: Kidnappers abducted three and killed one in Akwanga, Nassarawa.
*May 2: Kidnappers abducted twelve in Owan East, Edo.
*May 2: Gunmen killed one police officer in Aba, Abia.
*May 2: Herders killed three in Boripe, Osun.
*May 3: Gunmen killed a youth leader in Ahoada East, Rivers.
*May 4: Gunmen killed three police officers in Orumba South, Anambra.
*May 4: Soldiers killed 23 bandits while one soldier was killed during a clash in Shiroro, Niger State.
*May 6: Troops killed two Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) commanders and “several” other ISWA militants (est. at twelve total) in Konduga, Borno.
*May 7: Gunmen killed one police officer and kidnapped the Taraba local government chairman in Takum, Taraba.
*May 7: Bandits abducted forty from a church in Chikun, Kaduna.
*May 7: Bandits abducted thirteen and killed one in Kagarko, Kaduna.
*May 7: Security operatives killed four kidnappers in Idemili North, Anambra.
*May 7: Communal violence led to one death in Mokwa, Niger.
*May 8: Herders killed three in Guma, Benue.
*May 8: Cult clashes resulted in 16 deaths in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
*May 9: A cult clash resulted in three deaths in Owo, Ondo.
*May 9: Herders killed six in Guma, Benue.
*May 10: Security forces killed seven gunmen in Nnewi South, Anambra.
*May 10: Gunmen killed two in Mangu, Plateau.
*May 10: ISWA killed three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Damboa, Borno.
*May 11: Troops killed 11 ISWAP militants in Abadam, Borno.
*May 11: Kidnappers abducted an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Ehime-Mbano, Imo.
*May 12: Bandits abducted fifty in Rijau, Niger State.
*May 12: Communal violence led to 13 deaths in Karim-Lamido, Taraba.
*May 12: A pastor, Daniel Danbeki and 37 others were killed by suspected herdsmen in attacks on Takalafia and Kwaja in Karu LGA of Nasarawa State
*May 12: Communal crisis between Amazaba community of East Obolo and ikot Akpab Udo village in Ikot Abasi LGA of Akwa Ibom State claimed four lives
*May 14: A man shot his elder brother and cut off his head and private parts at Ekori in Yakkur LGA of Cross River State.
*May 15: Gunmen killed 29 person’s at Kubwat and Fungzai villages in Mangu LGA of Plateau State.
*May 15: Three soldiers were killed and 10 were injured while repelling an ambush on their convoy by Islamic State of West Africa Province, ISWAP, terrorists in Abadam, Borno State.
May 15: A man killed his stepmother with a pestle in Ihima Obeobe Ebozohu community, Okehi LGA of Kogi State
*May 16: Gunmen killed four US Embassy officials in Ogbaru LGA, Anambra State.
*May 16: 10 persons including a couple and their only child were killed in attacks on Akpanta, Ochumeko and Ijaha communities in Apa LGA of Benue State by suspected herdsmen
*May 16: An EFCC official was killed by two of his colleagues in Sokoto following a disagreement on custody of items belonging to a suspect.
*May 16: Kidnappers killed one person and kidnapped three including Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, immediate younger brother of the Akogun Oyedepo, Chairman, Governing Council of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti along Ijara-Isin/Isanlu Isin Road in Kwara State.
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