Nigeria has been ranked the third most terrorised country in the world for the fourth consecutive year.
Latest rankings released on Wednesday in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) have shown.
Nigeria has been battling with activities of terrorist group Boko Haram for years now, the herdsmen crisis in the Southern part of the country has only added to it.
Apart from 2014 when it was ranked fourth, Nigeria has remained in the unenviable third position since 2015.
In the latest report Iraq is ranked first, a position it has held since 2014.
Afghanistan has ranked second since 2013.
Syria and Pakistan are ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
Others among the top 10 countries worst hit by terrorism in 2017 are Somalia (sixth), India (seventh), Yemen (eighth), Egypt (ninth), and Philippines (10th).
There has been a reduction in the number of deaths caused by terrorism in Nigeria in 2017, as seen in the other three preceding years, according to the report.
“When compared to the peak of terrorist deaths in 2014, the largest falls in the number of deaths occurred in Iraq, Nigeria, and Pakistan, with falls of 6,466, 5,950, and 912 deaths respectively,” the report said.
Deaths from terrorism in Nigeria fell to 1,532 in 2017, a decrease of 16 per cent from the previous year.
There were 63 per cent and 34 per cent drop in deaths in the country in 2016 and 2015 respectively, according to the report.
The GTI report raised concern over the killings by herdsmen, saying terrorism was shifting from Nigeria’s North-East region to the country’s Middle-Belt.
“In Nigeria in 2018, there has been a dramatic increase in violence involving Fulani extremists even as deaths committed by Boko Haram are falling,” the report said.
