At least, 186 security operatives in the country have paid the supreme price while carrying out their duties in the country.
The security operatives include personnel of the military, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Police Force.
The figures were derived from news reports between January and September 2023.
States where the incidents have occurred most are Zamfara, Niger, Borno, Delta, Imo, Anambra, Benue, and Enugu states, among others.
Some of the incidents include the killing of three policemen at the Ebonyi-Enugu border checkpoint on January 28, 2023.
On January 31, a Divisional Police Officer and two policemen were killed in fresh herders attacks on Benue State communities.
In Delta State, on February 9, gunmen ambushed and killed four military officers. Two days later, bandits killed a Divisional Police Officer, and four policemen in Niger State on February 11.
Also, in Anambra State, gunmen set ablaze a Police Area Command and killed three policemen on February 18.
Four soldiers were among 10 people killed by bandits in Niger communities on March 15.
Also, terrorists killed 51 vigilante members in Zamfara on March 18. In Anambra, on May 5, three policemen were killed by gunmen.
In September, gunmen killed eight soldiers, policemen, and others in Imo State.
Commenting on the incidents, a security expert, Jackson Ojo, urged security operatives to step up their game and ensure perpetrators of these acts were nabbed.
He feared that if not done, this could embolden non-state actors to perpetrate more crime and unleash more attacks.
Ojo said, “The gruesome murder of our security agents has not only become rampant but also the norm. Our security agencies should go after the perpetrators and show them the stuff they are made up of.
“This can’t happen in America; you can’t do this at the spate we have here without apprehending the culprits. Our security agents must start doing that to send a warning signal to non-state actors.
“This barbaric act without the arrest of the perpetrators is emboldening them. They must come out brutal against non-state actors. As it is, no strategy put in place by security agencies can scare them if action is not taken to curb things like this.”
