GTI Ranks Nigeria 3rd Most Terrorised Country Globally

Joseph Ushigiale
Global Terrorism Index (GTI) in its latest report has ranked Nigeria as the third most terrorised country in the world.

According to the report on terrorism, Nigeria remained behind Iraq and Afghanistan.
The latest report is the fourth edition of the Global Terrorism Index which provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last 16 years, covering the period from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2015.

GTI said its report is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace and it is based on data from the Global Terrorism Database which is collected and collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a Department of Homeland Security Centre of Excellence led by the University of Maryland.

The Global Terrorism Database is considered to be the most comprehensive dataset on terrorist activity globally and has now codified over 150,000 terrorist incidents.

The report however said military success against ISIL and Boko Haram resulted in fewer deaths in Iraq and Nigeria, though the two groups spread terror to neighbouring states and regions.
Iraq and Nigeria saw the biggest decreases, with a combined decline of 5,558 deaths owing to the Nigerian military’s push against the terror organisation Boko Haram and the reduced influence of “IS” in Iraq.

The report also said IS is now officially the deadliest terrorist group in the world, overtaking Boko Haram, after claiming responsibility for 6,141 deaths through attacks in more than 250 different cities in 2015.

According to the report, Nigeria also had a reduction in the number of people killed by Fulani herdsmen by 50 per cent amounting to over 630 fewer deaths in 2015.
The report said: “Despite the decrease in deaths from terrorism, Nigeria still experienced a high rate of violent deaths.

“In addition to terrorism victims, there were at least 4,422 battle-related deaths from the conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Government in 2015, down from 8,233 in 2014.”
“Whilst the majority of fatalities were caused by armed assaults with firearms and knives, there has been an increase in the use of bombings and explosions, a tactic Boko Haram has been increasingly using after receiving explosives training from al-Shabaab.

“In 2013, Boko Haram conducted 35 bombings which killed 107 people. In 2015 there were 156 bombings that killed 1,638. Nearly two thirds of the bombings in 2015 were suicide bombings, which on average killed 10 people per attack,” the report said.

The report put the total number of people killed in Nigeria by Boko Haram at 17,097 since 2000.
Twenty-three countries registered their highest number of deaths from terrorism on record, compared to previous high of 17 in 2014 while France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Tunisia experienced sizable increases in terrorism influencing an overall deterioration of 6 per cent in the GTI score.

The report stated that terrorism is also more likely to occur in OECD member countries with poorer performance on socio-economic factors such as opportunities for youth, belief in the electoral system, levels of criminality and access to weapons.

It said 21 of the 34 OECD member countries experienced at least one terrorist attack with the majority of deaths occurring in Turkey and France.
The report also stated that terrorism cost an estimated $89.6 billion in 2015, down 15 per cent on the previous year.