The state of violence in Nigeria has received increased international attention recently, following the kidnapping of schoolgirls by the Boko Haram insurgent group. But neither this group, nor the occurrence of violent incidents in the largest African country by population, are new. This seminar proposes to look closer at the evolution of violence over the last decade.
How can we understand the dynamics of violence in Nigeria? What are the trends: does it increase or decrease? What kind of humanitarian mission is it to account for the dead, and what responsibilities follow? What are the challenges related to the tracing and mapping of violent deaths?
These are some of the questions we will address, with Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, Professor at the French Institute of Geopolitics and a PRIO Global Fellow. He will talk about the dynamics of violence in Nigeria and his project Nigeria Watch, created in 2006 to monitor violence to compensate for the lack of reliable data on excess mortality in hazardous environments. In a developing country where there are few criminal statistics, it crosschecks various sources of information to give trends of violence. The indicators rely on a database which quantifies and qualifies homicides and violent deaths, including accidents. Nigeria Watch is updated and used on a daily basis by academics, decision-makers and the general public.
Read one of Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos' recent publications on Boko Haram here.
Speaker: Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, Professor at the French Institute of Geopolitics and PRIO Global Fellow
Discussant: Siri Aas Rustad, Senior researcher PRIO
Chair: Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert, Senior researcher PRIOLight lunch and coffee will be served from 12:00
