Jihad Analytics reveals Nigeria is the second most terrorised nation by Islamic State worldwide

NIGERIA has been ranked as the second most terrorised nation in the world by Islamic State according to findings just published by global and international terrorism research/analysis group Jihad Analytics.

Islamic State is a militant group and former unrecognized quasi-state that follows the Salafi jihadist branch of Sunni Islam. It was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 1999 and gained global prominence in 2014 when it drove Iraqi security forces out of key cities during the Anbar campaign.

Prepared to use violence to meet its aims, Islamic State pledges its allegiance to Al-Qaeda and participated in the Iraqi insurgency following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the US. In 2014, the group proclaimed itself to be a worldwide caliphate and began referring to itself as the Islamic State, claiming religious, political and military authority over all Muslims worldwide

Jihad Analytics, which specialises in the collation of data on terrorist activities worldwide, said Nigeria now ranks the second most terrorised country by the Islamic State after Iraq. Its  data revealed that Iraq came tops, with Nigeria and Syria taking second and third positions respectively.

This latest report comes against the backdrop of frequent claims by the Nigerian government that terrorists have been degraded to the barest minimum. Jihad Analytics' report revealed that between January and June 2022, Iraq recorded the highest number of terrorist attacks at 337, whereas Nigeria recorded 305 attacks compared with Syria’s 142 terrorist attacks.

Furthermore, Jihad Analytics revealed that the Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (Iswap) terrorist groups were mostly responsible for the attacks. Both groups are seeking to create a pure Islamist theocracy in northeast Nigeria and have been waging a war against the state since 2009.