At least 2,336 people were killed in various violent attacks within the first three months of 2024, according to data sourced and analysed by The ICIR
This is an approximate average of 26 persons killed daily between January 2024 and the end of March 2024.
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The ICIR gathered the data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a data bureau that collects real-time data on the locations, dates, actors, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events worldwide.
The deaths were connected to 1,395 incidents reported to have taken place in the country within the period under review.
Insecurity has been a perennial challenge in Nigeria, ranging from attacks by bandits and secessionist groups to attacks by insurgent groups like Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP), and clashes between herdsmen and villagers, among others.
| Months | Death |
| January | 769 |
| February | 749 |
| March | 818 |
Table showing the monthly breakdown of reported deaths in Q1 2024
From the filtered document, 769 people were killed in January 2024, while in February and March, 749 and 818 deaths were reported.
According to the data, the states with the highest killings within the first quarter are Zamfara (439 deaths), Borno (437 deaths), Kastina (362 deaths) and Benue (221 deaths).
The states with the lowest reported cases of death are Gombe and Kano state recorded no deaths. A closer look at the data showed that Gombe reported only one violent incident within the quarter but no lives were lost.
This makes Gombe state the safest state to live in within the first three months of 2024.
Other states with a lower reported death rate are Oyo, Abia and Ondo with two deaths respectively.
When broken down by geopolitical zone, states in the North-Central reported 515 deaths, the North-East reported 539 deaths, and the North-West region had 996 deaths. For the Sothern region, the South-East recorded 102 deaths, the South-South recorded 131 deaths, and the Sout-West lost 53 people to attacks.
| Geopolitical Zone | Total |
| North Central | 515 |
| North East | 539 |
| North West | 996 |
| South West | 53 |
| South East | 102 |
| South South | 131 |
Table showing the geopolitical breakdown of deaths reported in Q1 2024
At the beginning of the year, Vice President Kahsim Shettima said that President Bola Tinubu had approved N50 billion as the “Pulaaku Initiative”, a non-kinetic solution to deal with insurgency and banditry in the North.
However, the data gathered showed that the northern states have suffered more insecurity attacks in the quarter under review than the Southern region. The data showed that within three months for every one person killed in a southern state, at least seven persons died in the north.
The ICIR had reported several violent attacks in Nigeria within the first quarter. This rising number of killings forced the federal government and state to agree on creating state police to strengthen the security architecture of the country.
Update: The headline of this report was changed.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale