Nigeria loses $40 billion to insecurity in 2020 

Recent reports say Nigeria has lost $40.6 billion last year alone to insecurity in 2020 with unknown gunmen, killer herdsmen, bandits, Boko Haram, and ISWAP terrorists have combined to unleash violence on the country.

According to the Institute for Economics & Peace’s ‘Global Peace Index 2021: Measuring Peace in a Complex World, Sydney, June 2021,’ the economic impact of violence on the global economy amounted to $14.96 trillion in constant purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. This is equivalent to 11.6 per cent of global GDP or $1,942 per person.

Last year, 2020, the economic toll of violence increased for the second time in a row, rising by 0.2% or $32.5 billion from the previous year. With Nigeria named one of the least peaceful countries globally, ranked 146 out of 163, the report put the economic impact of violence in Nigeria at $40.6 billion. On the log of ‘Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict domain,’ the report also named Nigeria as one of the least peaceful places on earth.

“Nigeria recorded the largest increase in its economic impact, which increased by $40.6 billion in 2020 compared to 2019,” it reported.

In the report, the economic impact of violence includes indicators such as military expenditure, conflict casualty , and homicides. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) it also include spending on refugees and IDPs, losses from conflict, suicide, and internal security expenditure

According to the report, at least 90 per cent of Nigerians killed by police officers in the South-East were innocent as federal government’s security forces lay siege on states in the region amid secessionist threats and unknown gunmen’s violent attacks on public facilities and security operatives.