Nigeria Loses 965 Soldiers, Policemen To Boko Haram, IPOB In 2 Years

At least 965 soldiers and policemen have died in the line of duty as a result of the escalation of violence in many parts of Nigeria, perpetrated by Boko Haram, bandits, activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other non-state actors in the last two years.

Daily Trust Saturday tracked the various violent incidents related to killings of police and military personnel between January 2021 and April 2023 in which findings revealed that Nigeria’s security officials bore a significant brunt of killings by non-state actors.

The data metrics, which were exclusively gathered from reported incidents in newspapers, showed that 581 policemen and 384 military personnel died in the line of duty within the period under review.

Retired senior officers, however, said the incidents, though unfortunate, would not affect the morale of security forces, who are spread all over the country to maintain law and order.

Daily Trust Saturday could not get official records from the Nigerian Army and police headquarters as efforts to reach the army spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, did not yield results after they both failed to respond to calls and text messages.

However, records revealed that the NPF has approximately 371,800 officers across the country, with a ratio of one police officer to 540 citizens. This is lower than the United Nation’s recommended rate of one police officer to 450 people.

For the military, World Bank database revealed that as at 2019, Nigeria had a military strength of 223,000 personnel. This figure, despite a significant loss of at least 384 personnel, was corroborated in February, 2023 by Nigeria’s minister of defence, Bashir Magashi, during the 25th edition of President Muhammadu Buhari’s scorecard series to showcase his administration’s achievements.

Ifah Sunday Ele