By Promise Eze
A report by the Counter-terrorism Department of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has revealed that between May 29, 2015 and May 29, 2022, over 55,430 Nigerians have been killed by terrorist groups and criminal gangs operating across the country.
The report authored by a Senior Fellow of the Institute, Bulama Bukarti, was titled, ‘Democracy under threat: Why security risks to Nigeria’s 2023 elections must not be overlooked’.
According to the report, over 3.2 million Nigerians had been displaced from their homes, mostly from the North in 2021 alone.
While some fled across the border to Niger, the majority reside with relatives, typically in urban and suburban areas that are deemed safer.
According to Bukarti, who is also a legal practitioner, the situation has escalated in the past 18 months during which over 8,948 Nigerians were killed and 7,184 abducted.
As of July 2022, at least 2.45 million were registered as internally displaced.
“If this trend continues, millions of Nigerians will be displaced from their designated polling units on election day. Individuals are only allowed to cast their vote in polls where they originally registered. So, the high number of internally displaced people could make a big difference to the outcome of the 2023 election,” part of the report read.
