6. Northwest Overview

While insurgency raged 300 miles to the east, tallying up the highest numbers of fatalities per capita in the country during the period of 2009–2013, in the Northwest things were relatively calm during this period, with some states (Sokoto and Kebbi) having very few incidents per capita and others, such as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with periodic spikes in violence. The FCT had a significant number of incidents and fatalities resulting from bombings, protests, and gang violence. In Zamfara there were a number of highly lethal raids on villages by large gangs and several cases of pastoral/farmer clashes. The conflict patterns in the five states included in this region vary by trend and issue. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the region is also very diverse socioeconomically, comprising some of Nigeria’s poorest states (Zamfara, Kebbi, and Sokoto) as well as Niger, which is one of the wealthier states and the Federal Capital Territory, which is second only to Lagos in terms of having the lowest levels of poverty. While difficult to identify a common thread or theme in this region, disaggregating to the state and LGA-level highlights hotspots and issues of concern (Fig. 6.1).