DANIEL Makai (2015) A Study of Violence-Related Deaths in Nafada Local Government Area of Gombe State and Auyo, Gagarawa, Gumel, Gwiwa, Kaugama and Yankwasi Local Government Areas of Jigawa State (2006-2014)

Invisible violence exists in some rural areas in northern Nigeria. ‘Invisible’ here entails lack of available documented instances of fatal violence in such areas. Against this backdrop, the lack of data has prompted this study to unearth, document, and evaluate any occurrences of lethal violence in selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Gombe and Jigawa states from 2006 to 2014.

The specific objectives are to:
 Assess and document invisible violence in Gombe and Jigawa states.
 Evaluate the categories of lethal violence that have occurred.
 Document the series of lethal violence incidents through terrorism, ethnoreligious conflicts, land disputes, inter- and intra-group and political conflicts.

The field research gathered evidence of the drivers of invisible violence in northern Nigeria through desktop review of secondary materials such as media reports, databases, policy reports, and academic literature, combined with primary research involving the conduct of key informant interviews, administration of questionnaires, and focus group discussions (FGDs).

According to the findings, the lack of data on fatal incidents in the focal communities results from the minimal occurrence of such violent activities. Yet economic (poverty and unemployment) as well as sociocultural factors (poor parental upbringing or neglect of children) underpin young people’s vulnerability to recruitment into violent activities by extremist groups or gangs. The high unemployment environment has caused youth involvement in the achaba (motor bike) business, leading to over-speeding and road traffic accidents. The study also found that the excesses of the security forces are not a major factor in youth involvement in violent activities, contrary to the popular assumption in some quarters.

Tags: Nigeria, Violence, Lethal violence, Invisible violence, Gombe State, Jigawa State