Civilian Conflicts in Nigeria: The Experience of Surgeons in Kaduna

Management of the mass casualty from the 2001 Jos crisis

“…[5] This preponderance of young males in our study was because these were the rioters in the first place and bore the brunt when the security agencies were called in to control the situation. Similar reports from Kaduna [8] and Calabar [9] support this demographic characteristic of victims of violent civilian conflicts in Nigeria.…”

“…These demographics closely parallel the experience from Kaduna, following a civil crisis 1 year before ours. [8] Civilian gunshot wounds have been shown to be a common problem in post-civil war Nigeria as a result of the escalation of inter-personal, communal violence and civil upheavals and proliferation of small arms and light weapons [10,11] and rising ethno-religious hatred, intolerance and violence.…”

“…These are injuries inflicted at close range and are quite similar to the experience from Kaduna. [8] The reason for this is that initial mechanism of injuries involved interpersonal violence at close range using sharp and blunt weapons. It is an indication of the lethal intent of the blows and the resulting defensive injuries hence the preponderance of head, neck and upper extremity injuries.…”

Epidemiology and Outcome of Gunshot Injuries in a Civilian Population in West Africa

“…These are now largely used for armed robbery, a crime exacerbated by a general economic downturn in the country. Reports [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] on civilian gunshots in Nigeria have shown that GSI are increasing. Other causes apart from armed robbery have been identified; some are peculiar to specific regions, like the use of firearms during funeral ceremonies, exclusively found in the south-eastern part of Nigeria [3][4][5]7], or religious/ethnic riots in northern Nigeria [9,10].…”

“…Reports [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] on civilian gunshots in Nigeria have shown that GSI are increasing. Other causes apart from armed robbery have been identified; some are peculiar to specific regions, like the use of firearms during funeral ceremonies, exclusively found in the south-eastern part of Nigeria [3][4][5]7], or religious/ethnic riots in northern Nigeria [9,10]. In the past 10-15 years, reports of politically motivated murder [6,7], students' cultism [6,7], and township boundary, interethnic clashes [4] have involved the use of firearms.…”