The levels of casualties, internal displacement, social disruption and government failure are fomenting a widespread crisis, spilling over the borders of neighbouring states such as Niger, Cameroon and Chad, the report says.
According to the new dataset compiled at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Boko Haram-related violence is the most lethal conflict that Nigeria has confronted in decades and that deaths attributable to Boko Haram has been increasing over time, but this increase has been particularly sharp in the past year.
The report said that since 1998, at least 29,600 Nigerians have been killed in more than 2,300 incidents, reflecting a wide range of ethnic, religious, political and economic tensions across large portions of the country.
“The conflict is rapidly intensifying. We estimate that 7,000 people died in incidents related to the insurgency between July 2013 and June 2014, compared with fewer than 1,900 in the preceding year. These deaths account for more than a quarter of all the recorded deaths in the past 15 years.
“Since January, more than 5,000 people have died, making the past eight months almost as deadly as the preceding five years,” it said.