Geospatial Analysis of Violence, Riot, and Protest in North-Eastern Nigeria

The spate of insecurity challenges has been a great threat to many developing countries in the last two decades, with the increasing rate of violent attacks and the attendant loss of lives and properties. Understanding the spatial pattern of attacks and rate of incidence is a precursor to mapping out strategies for the military operation against insurgents. This paper, therefore, analyzed violent attacks, riots, and protests in North-Eastern Nigeria comprising six states. The six states in North-Eastern Nigeria were purposively selected. Data for the study were acquired from Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) portals for a period of twenty years (2001–2020). Data were analyzed using the GIS technique (Nearest Neighborhood Analysis and symbology) on ArcGIS 10.8. The results of analysis show the clustered pattern of violence (at Z-value = - 101.878), Riots (at Z-value of -29.49) and Protest (at Z-value of -18.87) with fatalities of (26, 208); (644); (10) respectively in the area. The study concludes that the insecurity in North-East of Nigeria has claimed many lives and is concentrated within a few states. Geospatial technology as applied in this study revealed the pattern of attacks which is important for strategic operational planning. This study thus identifies geospatial technology application as a required tool to combating insecurity, not only in North East but also in the entire country.