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At least 150 members of the Fulani community, most of them children, have died while being arbitrarily detained by the Nigerian military in Kwara State, according to Amnesty International.
The human rights organisation said Thursday that its investigation found the victims were among 1,500 Fulani pastoralists held for three months at a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Yikpata.
According to Amnesty, the detainees were transported to the camp after being forced to leave their homes amid escalating attacks by armed groups in Kwara.
Instead of finding safety, the organisation said, they face overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, restrictions on movement, acute malnutrition and disease.
Amnesty also said at least 100 pregnant women at the camp are at risk of life-threatening complications due to a lack of adequate maternal care.
“Members of the Fulani community face persecution on two fronts – from armed groups and the military,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
“Instead of receiving protection, they are being denied their rights to personal liberty, livelihood, movement, education and healthcare. We met people who described losing parents, siblings, spouses, children and grandchildren at the camp. Such tragedies only add to their suffering.”
Our investigation found that the victims were among 1,500 Fulani pastoralists who have been detained at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Camp in Yikpata for the past three months. They were transported to the camp after being forced to leave their homes amid… pic.twitter.com/7OxY8uv1rB
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) April 30, 2026
Detainee testimonies
According to Amnesty, a woman currently held at the camp said her twin daughters died there.
“After we fled our villages because of attacks by gunmen, we were called by the government to move to a safe place. So, we gathered at Offa. From there, the Nigerian army conveyed us in their vehicles to Yikpata NYSC camp, where our suffering began,” she told Amnesty.
“At the camp, we did not have enough food, sometimes only beans in the evening, and even that was not guaranteed. Starvation claimed the lives of many children and pregnant women. My twin daughters, Hauwa’u and Hajja, died there.”
She added, “I remember that at the peak of the deaths, we contributed 60,000 naira (US$44) to buy white shrouds for burial because of the increasing number of deaths. We buried three corpses in a single grave.”
A 43-year-old man who escaped the camp told Amnesty that”A total of 154 people have died from hunger and disease since we were brought and detained there. On the day I escaped, six children died.”
Background of displacement
According to Amnesty, those detained had fled attacks by armed groups across villages in Asa, Edu, Ifelodun and Patigi local government areas of Kwara State. Many had also escaped insecurity linked to recent military operations targeting the same armed groups.
Some victims told Amnesty that military authorities ordered residents who were “innocent” to leave their villages in January 2026 to make way for clearance operations.
According to the organisation, hundreds gathered at a designated meeting point and were transported by the military to the camp in Yikpata, where they have been held in prolonged detention.
Amnesty calls for investigation
Amnesty International called on Nigerian authorities to conduct a “prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigation” into the reported deaths.
“Nigerian authorities must promptly and effectively investigate the reported deaths and bring to justice those suspected to be responsible,” Sanusi said.
“Authorities must ensure access to justice and effective remedies for the victims and their families.”
Calls for end to detention
Amnesty also called for an end to the arbitrary detention of Fulani pastoralists in Kwara State.
“The Nigerian authorities must end the ongoing arbitrary detention of Fulani pastoralists in Kwara state,” Sanusi said.
“It is unlawful for a security operation to target individuals, whole families and whole villages based on their ethnicity.”
He added: “The existence of the camp puts detainees outside the protection of the law in flagrant violation of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international human rights obligations.”
According to Amnesty, researchers visited the camp and other locations in Kwara State between 5 and 11 April 2026. They interviewed 30 family members, detainees and survivors.
Images obtained from the camp show children with prominent ribs, protruding shoulder blades and too weak to walk, the organisation said.
