Nigeria has been ranked the third most terrorized country in the world after Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new report by the Global Terrorism Index.
The report however says Military success against ISIL and Boko Haram resulted in fewer deaths in Iraq and Nigeria, though the two groups spread terror to neighboring 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 organization, Boko Haram and the reduced influence of “IS” in Iraq.
The report also says ISIS 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%, 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 ten 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.
23 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% in the GTI score.
The report found 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 says 21 of the 34 OECD member countries experienced at least one terrorist attack with the majority of deaths occurring in Turkey and France.
The reports also says terrorism cost an estimated $89.6 billion in 2015, down 15 percent in the previous year.