Under Buhari, Nigeria Ranks 4th As Country Leading In State Sponsored Killings
President Muhammadu Buhari[/caption]
In a worrying new report, Nigeria has been ranked alongside Sudan, Yemen, Burma and Afghanistan as the top five countries in state sponsored killings of their citizens.
The report by The Early Warning Project, a collaboration of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Dartmouth College, observed that, “After a decade of decline, civilian mass killings at the hands of government forces are once again on the rise.
“Sudan, Yemen, Burma, Nigeria, and Afghanistan are the five governments most likely to commit mass killing against their own people.”
Advertisement
The Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired army general and one-time dictator, has been accused by international organisations especially Amnesty International of extra judicial killings, a claim the government has denied.
The Early Warning Project uses publicly available data to rank the likelihood of state-led mass killings. It seeks to save lives by helping policymakers, activists and affected communities understand and prioritize where to direct limited prevention resources to prevent new mass atrocities.
The Nigerian army in December, 2016 was accused of killing hundreds of Shi’ites and later buried in mass graves in Kaduna State. Their leader, an Islamic cleric, Ibraheem El Zak Zaky, has been in detention since then despite a court order ordering the Nigerian government to release him.
Also, members of self-determination group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have been killed by security forces on several occasions at prayer grounds and on the streets when protesting peacefully.
Advertisement
Their leader, Nnamdi Kanu is still in the Kuje prisons.
Top Risks
Sudan (1)
Civil war has been a fact of life for the people of Sudan for years. While the government of President Omar al-Bashir claims its targets are rebel groups in the Darfur region and South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, civilians are frequently the victims of bombings and violence. More than 3.2 million Sudanese people have fled their homes. In our latest assessment, high risks of coup or civil war—among other factors—drove Sudan to the top of countries at risk of a new episode of mass killing.
Yemen (2)
As the civil war continues between Houthi rebels and the predominantly Sunni forces of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, Yemen moved to second from tenth. While Saudi Arabia has perpetrated an extensive bombing campaign with horrendous effect on Yemeni civilians, our models focus on the risk of the government of Yemen killing its own people.
Burma (3)
Despite its progress toward democracy, which motivated the US government to remove sanctions on Burma, the government and military continue to target the Rohingya, a Muslim minority known as “the most persecuted people in the world.” They are subjected to discriminatory laws and acts of violence that put them at risk of genocide. Recent reports of killings, widespread rape and destruction of villages by security forces targeting Rohingya are further evidence that state-led violence remains a great threat to Rohingya civilians. Burma ranks number three on our list.
The top 30 Countries at Risk
1.Sudan
Advertisement
2.Yemen
3.Burma
4.Nigeria
5.Afghanistan
6.Burundi
7.Central African Republic
Advertisement
8.Mali
9.Pakistan
10.Democratic Republic of the Congo
11.Iraq
12.Somalia
13.Turkey
14.South Sudan
15.Ethiopia
16.Bangladesh
17.Egypt
18.Sri Lanka
19.Guinea
20.Tanzania
21.Ukraine
22.Rwanda
23.Cameroon
24.Ivory Coast
25.Syria
26.Uganda
27.Angola
28.Chad
29.Mauritania
30.India
0 New
Reply to all
