Insurgency ‘has killed about 350 000’

ABUJA: North-east Nigeria’s conflict with Islamist insurgencies had killed nearly 350 000 people as of the end of 2020, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said yesterday.

The toll, given by the UN agency in a new study on the war and its impact on livelihoods, is 10 times higher than previous estimates of about 35 000 based only on those killed in fighting in Nigeria since the conflict’s start 12 years ago.

“The full human cost of the war is much greater,” the UNDP said in a report, released with Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance.

“Already, many more have died from the indirect effects of the conflict,” said the UNDP, citing damage to agriculture, water, trade, food and healthcare. A Nigerian presidential spokesperson declined to comment.