The killings carried out by non-state actors increased last week (May 1 – 7) with at least 78 people killed by non-state actors.

The figure indicates an increase when compared to the previous week when at least15 persons, including a soldier, were killed.

Out of the total number of people killed last week, five were security agents, including two soldiers and three policemen, while the remaining 73 were civilians.

The two soldiers killed last week were beheaded by suspected members of the South-east separatist group, IPOB, while 56 persons were killed in Zamfara in one attack.

Out of nine incidents, five were from the South-east while the remaining four were from North-east and North-west. The remaining three regions recorded no incident.

PREMIUM TIMES compiled the incidents from media reports. Thus, unreported cases are not included.

Below are the recorded incidents:

South-east

Gunmen on Sunday killed two soldiers, at an unknown location in Imo State.

The victims, A. M. Linus, said to be a sergeant of the Nigerian Army, and his unidentified wife, said to be a lance corporal in the army, were beheaded after being shot dead by the gunmen.

A gory image of the murder was later shared on social media platforms.

Also in Imo, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) identified as Ukam Efut was on Tuesday shot dead at a security checkpoint at Agwa in the Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State by fleeing gunmen.

Still in Imo, two suspected members of IPOB and its armed affiliate, ESN, were gunned down in a duel with police operatives at Agwa in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State.

The suspects emerged from the surrounding bushes and opened fire on policemen on patrol duty in the area, leading to the death of a police officer.

In Ebonyi, a 26-year-old lady, Ugochukwu Nworie, was raped to death by a gang of rapists.

The incident, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, happened at Hope-in Hotel, Nine Ngbowo Street, Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Monday.

In Anambra, gunmen, on Monday, killed four persons, including a police officer, in two communities.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that two of the victims who were killed in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area, were brothers

North-east

The Islamic State of West Africa province killed three people in Kautikari ward of Chibok Local Government Area on Tuesday. The attack occurred while the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, was paying a courtesy visit to the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, at the Government House in Maiduguri.

The attack, according to a villager, started around 6 p.m.

In Gombe, three young persons were said to have lost their lives after a clash during the Sallah durbar procession on Wednesday.

The incident, according to the state government, happened around Jekadafari Quarters in the state capital.

North-west

Residents of Bakura Local Government of Zamfara State said no fewer than 56 people were killed on Friday afternoon when bandits attacked three villages in the area.

A former councilor, who asked not to be named, told our reporter that the gunmen attacked Sabon Garin Damri, of the villages, around 2:30 p.m.

Barely 24 hours after that attack, gunmen killed another another seven people in Maradun Local Government Area of the state.

Maradun and Bakura local government areas share boundaries.

In the fresh attack on Saturday afternoon, a local source in Maradun said, two villages, Faru and Kauyen Minane, were attacked.

“I was at the Maradun General Hospital when the soldiers brought the corpses of those killed,” a resident, Jamilu Muhammad, said.

Beheading of soldiers inhuman – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari while reacting to the beheading of the soldiers by suspected IPOB members described it as sad and tragic.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Wednesday, four days after the incident, the president commiserated with the army and families of the deceased soldiers.

While condemning the dastardly act, President Buhari urged community leaders in the South-east to speak with one voice and condemn acts of violence.

“On behalf of the government and the entire nation, President Muhammadu Buhari expresses deep condolences to the Nigerian Army and the families of Master Warrant Officer Audu Linus and his partner, Private Gloria Mathew, who were beheaded after being shot by the terrorist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Saturday as confirmed by the Nigerian Army.

“The President joins fellow citizens in expressing deep sense of shock and condemns the barbarism of the perpetrators of this unfortunate incident, and similar acts of violence against law enforcement agents, describing it as alien to all cultures and civilizations.

“President Buhari calls on all leaders – community, regional and national – to “speak with one voice, to show that the entire country is one against this cruel and barbaric act of violence. This is unacceptable.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of this sad and tragic incident,” said the president.