A new report ‘Protecting the Civic Space: Trends, Challenges, and Future Outlook in Nigeria’ has said that no fewer than 91,740 Nigerians lost their lives to insecurity between 2011 and 2024.

The 95-page report was presented yesterday in Abuja at a high-level multi-stakeholder policy dialogue organized by Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), in collaboration with Dataphyte and Spaces for Change under the auspices of the Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS).

The event, also attended by the acting Editor-in-Chief of Media Trust Group, Malam Hamza Idris, was also had representatives of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Vision Spring Initiative, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Premium Times, and WikiTimes among others in attendance.

The study, conducted under the Illuminating New Solutions and Programmatic Innovations for Resilient Spaces (INSPIRES) project, also linked the rising insecurity in the country to shrinking civic space, with protests, press freedom, and public assembly facing increasing restrictions.

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Presenting the report, KDI Head of Research and Strategy, Mr Oluwafemi Adebayo, said that insecurity has surged due to governance failures, economic disparities, and historical ethnic tensions.

According to the report, in 2014 alone, 14,470 deaths were recorded majorly driven by Boko Haram insurgency and communal clashes in parts of the country.

The study analysed 14,779 security incidents, noting that 8.1 per cent directly impacted civic freedoms, including crackdowns on protests and censorship.

“From 2020 to 2022, the report noted that civic space restrictions peaked, with 440 cases recorded in 2021, largely due to government crackdowns after the #EndSARS protests. Between 2011 and 2024, Nigeria recorded 14,779 incidents of insecurity, with a staggering 91,740 deaths. The peak year for fatalities was 2014, when 14,470 people lost their lives, largely due to Boko Haram’s insurgency and increased communal clashes.

“Between 2020 and 2024, at least 1,196 security incidents – accounting for 8.1 per cent of all documented cases – directly impacted civic space. The data highlights a clear geographic pattern, with civic space issues being particularly pronounced in states that are either conflict-ridden or serve as hubs of political and economic activity,” the report said.

The report warned that if current trends continue, civic space violations could reach 1,846 cases by 2029.

While naming Borno, Kaduna, Zamfara, Benue and Plateau states, as Nigeria’s most insecure states, it also listed Jigawa, Ekiti, Osun, Abia, and Kwara states as the safest due to significantly lower security risks relative to other states in the last 13 years.

“These states exhibit greater stability and fewer disruptive security threats, making them less prone to the widespread violence affecting other parts of the country.”

The report which indicated that conflict-ridden states also experience the highest civic space restrictions, with Kaduna ranking worst in this category, also urged the government to adopt citizen-centred security policies that address the root causes of unrest.

The founder of Dataphyte Foundation, Mr Joshua Olufemi, whose organisation equally presented a 99-page ‘Media Reports of Threats to Civic Space Actors and Institutions in Nigeria’ said that suppression of civic freedoms in Nigeria manifests in multiple ways, including lawsuits, arrests, and imprisonment.

He said that a troubling trend where many people are detained without warrants, and the government offers little to no accountability for these actions is worrisome.

“But beyond that is also how government or other non-state actors as well are determining what a fact is and what misinformation is or what is fueled or financed by terrorism or every other foreign actors.

“We think that the lines are becoming blurred and all of them are defined and determined by the government. These are ways that the government and I think the civic space are determining the ravaging suppression on the civic space.

“First, we’ve always known that the instrument of democracy is driven by dialogue. The more government, civil society organisations, citizens and all other actors can always deliberate about a way forward, the better or the more effective it can become,” Olufemi said.