THERE were 174 kidnap victims and 154 civilian deaths from 71 violent attacks across the country in the last week, analysis of insecurity data from the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST) shows.

Leading the list with the highest number of attacks was Kaduna State, where nine attacks,  104 kidnaps and 10 civilian deaths occurred.

In Kaduna, students of Greenfield University, a private university, were kidnapped on April 21. The bodies of three abducted students were later found after being killed by the bandits. On Monday, April 26, two more students were found dead, increasing the number of the dead to five. Before the incidents, kidnappers had  demanded N800 million ransom for the release of the students, reports said.

Next to Kaduna was Katsina, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari. Katsina experienced six attacks, out of which 26 persons were kidnapped with six deaths.

In the South West, Oyo State recorded three attacks, resulting in the kidnap of 23 victims, making it third state with the highest number of victims from kidnapping incidents in the past week.

In terms of deaths, Zamfara State recorded grim 102 civilian deaths from five attacks, the highest in all the states across the country. Yobe came second as state with the second-highest number of deaths in the past week. 

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On April 23, Boko Haram was reported to have attacked Geidam in Yobe and according to the NST, 11 civilians were reported to have died in the attack. Geidam is the hometown of the Acting Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba.

Insecurity has been rising at an unprecedented rate in Nigeria, with kidnappings and other violent attacks the order of the day.

According to the NST, out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bauchi, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Kano, Kogi, Ogun, and Sokoto were states without any reported insecurity challenge in the week under review. 

Benue State also experienced five attacks in the week under review. From the attacks, six civilians were reported to have died.

In the South-East part of the country, Imo State recorded the highest number of attacks, with five incidents resulting in seven deaths. They ranged from attacks on Police stations and the invasion of the home of Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma.