Killing of 322 police, 642 soldiers: We’re in very difficult circumstances – Northern Elders

The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, says Nigerians are facing “very difficult” circumstances with the spate violence in the country.

The Forum said this against the backdrop of a new report by a research and intelligence firm, SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence, which examined combatant attacks in the period of Q4 2020 and Q3 2021.

The report stated that 322 police and 642 soldiers were killed; adding that 1989 bandits, 973 Boko Haram members, 290 cultists, 129 Vigilantes, and 100 IPOB members also died in the same period.
Reacting, NEF’s Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said, in an interview with Vanguard , regretted that the government has not done enough to secure the nation.

He said, “The nation is being threatened and damaged at unprecedented levels. Whatever governments are doing to secure citizens, communities and the nation are obviously not enough.

‘Yet we have to demand that leaders improve their responses to these threats. If leaders cannot protect and secure us, citizens have a right to question their continuation in power.

“We cannot protect ourselves from armed criminality without jeopardizing our own security. However, governments make it difficult (for citizens) to exercise their rights to protest failures. We are in very difficult circumstances.”