This weekly update spotlights organized criminal violence in the Niger Delta with a specific focus on rising threat of criminal insurgency and targeted killings in Abia State. Violence perpetrated by separatist militias and criminal gangs remains a leading driver of insecurity in the state. According to available data (see map below), over 100 conflict fatalities were recorded in Abia State between January 2020 and September 2024 as a result of organized criminal insurgency and targeted killings. Recent incidents indicate a resurgence of criminal violence in the State. For instance, in September 2024, a lawyer and staff member of the State Ministry of Justice was allegedly killed by gunmen at his residence in Aba, Aba North LGA. In November, a 30-year-old man was reportedly shot dead by a 70-year-old man in Ohokobe Ndume, Umuahia North LGA. Separately, militias allegedly attacked an army checkpoint near Ekenobizi community in Umuahia South LGA, killing two soldiers. Most recently, on November 17, gunmen reportedly attacked a police convoy at Ubakala community in Umuahia South LGA, killing one police officer.

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