Nigeria: A Review of 2021
It’s been a whirlwind of a year, and we are finally coming to an end. So we will be highlighting some of the significant events that defined the year.
In January, troops of the Nigerian military in the Operation Thunder Strike killed several armed bandits in Chikwale forest on the Kaduna-Abuja expressway. The soldiers with Nigerian Airforce (NAF) fighter jets and helicopters coordinated attacks against the bandits, killing many of them while some escaped with injuries.
In February, 317 girls female students aged 10 and 17 were abducted by bandits on February 26 2021. The kidnapping happened at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding school in Jangebe, Zamfara State, Nigeria.
In March, 279 of the abducted female students from Jangebe were freed and reunited with their families.
In April, 20 students and two staff of Greenfield University, a private institution in Kasarami village, Chikun Local government Area, Kaduna State, were abducted during an attack by armed bandits. Five of them were killed by their abductors, who threatened to kill the others if a ransom was not paid.
In May, the army suffered a tragedy as Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru died in a military plane crash that occurred in Kaduna State. The incident happened on May 21 at the Kaduna International Airport and killed all seven people aboard.
In June, a ban on Twitter was placed by the presidency, service providers in Nigeria were directed to block citizens access to Twitter. This happened after a controversial tweet from Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was removed. In the tweet, the president threatened to deal with those causing trouble in the country,” using the language they understand”.
In July, an arrest warrant was issued for Deputy Commissioner Of Police Abba Kyari over a link to Nigerian fraudster Hushpuppi. The FBI disclosed that Hushpuppi and Abba Kyari were friends, and Hushpuppi accused the Deputy Commissioner of Police of receiving bribes from him to arrest another fraudster in Nigeria. A claim Abba Kyari vehemently denied.
In August, there was an attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna State, resulting in the killing of two officers and the abduction of a senior officer. According to reports, the gunmen broke into five flats at the premises and left before the guards could intervene.
In September, the Kaduna State Government ordered a telecommunications shutdown and a ban on “okada”. This was done to check the activities of bandits in the state. The decision didn’t go down well with citizens of the state who complained about the inconveniences it caused them.
In October, 20 security operatives were killed, their corpses burned in Shinkafi Local Government Area, Zamfara state. Terrorists attacked them in the village they had been dispatched to. The terrorists had dominated the area for a long time and intended to keep it that way.
In November, the telecommunications ban in Kaduna was lifted to the relief of citizens. Attacks on the Kaduna-Abuja road had continued despite the ban. Also, 10 out of the 13 abducted Zaria local government council staff were released. Bandits had kidnapped the director, Education and Social development In Council, Mrs Deborah Mugu and 12 other staff.
And now, with only a few days left out of December, the top news for the month is the President’sPresident’s refusal to sign the amended electoral bill given to him by the National Assembly. Presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu stated that signing the bill would throw Nigerians into poverty and financial pressures while politicians would be the beneficiaries.
And with that, we have come to the end of the quick rundown of events in 2021.