Nigeria’s Global Terrorism Index (GTI), has improved with the country moving up to the sixth position as killings and insurgency perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists dipped by 72%, according to a report released on Friday by an independent terrorism research body, the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), IgbereTV reports.
In the report, Nigeria’s move came as a result of the successes recorded in the fight against the BokoHaram/ISWAP insurgents in 2021, making it the first time the country’s ranking would improve since 2017.
According to the IEP, Nigeria, Syria, and Somalia are the only nations, among the 10 most affected by terrorism, to get an improved score from 2020 to 2021.
“Going by our records, there was a decline in the number of terrorism-related deaths in Nigeria. This could be attributed to the death of the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, and the Federal Government’s efforts at defeating the group,” the report noted.
“Total deaths from terrorism in Nigeria fell to 448 in 2021, the lowest level since 2011. Terror-related casualties dropped by almost half compared with the previous year.
“However, the number of terrorist attacks increased by 49 per cent between 2020 and 2021. 36% of attacks were claimed by ISWAP/Boko Haram as being responsible, while 44% were not attributed to any group
