No fewer than 25 , 794 Nigerians may have died in violent crises in the first four years of President Muhammadu Buhari .
The figure was released by the Nigeria Security Tracker, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations , a nonprofit think tank specialising in United States foreign policy and international affairs .
The number represents those killed by different insurgent groups and Boko Haram in the North , herdsmen, and people who died in extrajudicial activities of the military.
From June 2015 to May 2019, our correspondent observed that Borno suffered the highest casualties, recording 9 , 303 deaths. The state was followed by Zamfara ( 1 , 963 ) and Adamawa ( 1 , 529 ).
Others captured in the map are Kaduna ( 1 , 488 ) , Plateau ( 771) , Taraba ( 649 ) , Benue ( 1 , 642 ) , Niger ( 252) Rivers ( 730) , Cross River ( 467) , Ogun ( 301) , among others.
Graphical illustration revealed that the highest casualties were recorded in July 2015 ( 1 , 299) and January 2019 ( 1 , 077 ).
Within the four years timeline, Boko Haram was responsible for 5 , 598 deaths, while sectarian violence , including the herdsmen- farmers crisis led to 4 , 917 deaths.
State actors alone , including the military , were said to have killed 4 , 068 people.
During the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan ( June 2011 to May 2015) , a total of 34 , 884 people were reportedly killed across the country.
The highest record of casualties was in March 2014, when 3 , 456 Nigerians were killed.
Boko Haram and the military were together responsible for 12 , 765 deaths .
The Council on Foreign Relations , while explaining the methodology behind the data, said it relied on media reports.
The report said , “ The Nigeria Security Tracker tracks violence that is both causal and symptomatic of Nigeria ’ s political instability and citizen alienation . The data are based on weekly surveys of Nigerian and international media.
“ The data start with May 29 , 2011, the date of Goodluck Jonathan’ s inauguration as president . It was an event that highlighted the increasing bifurcation of the country on regional and religious lines . The NST is updated weekly .
“ Relying on press reports of violence presents methodological limitations.
There is a dearth of accurate reporting across certain regions, death tolls are imprecise, and accounts of incidents vary . There is the potential for political manipulation of media . Given these limitations , the NST makes every effort to collect information from multiple sources . Nevertheless , NST statistics should be viewed as indicative rather than definitive.”
The Presidency did not react when contacted.
Calls made by Punchng to Presidential spokesmen , Mr Femi Adesina , and Mr Garba Shehu , were not returned.
Text messages forwarded to them were also not responded to as of 9 . 03 pm .
