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More than 10,000 people have been killed in Nigeria’s Northern states over the past two years due to violence by terrorist groups and armed criminal gangs, Amnesty International said Thursday.
In a newly released report, the global human rights organisation accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing to protect civilians in areas plagued by deadly raids carried out by terrorists and so-called “bandits” — armed groups notorious for attacking villages, killing residents, and kidnapping victims for ransom.
President Tinubu, however, defended his administration’s security efforts on Thursday, stating that deployed troops have successfully restored order and neutralised threats in key flashpoints across the country.
Violence also continues in central Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where tensions between herders and farmers frequently erupt into deadly clashes. These confrontations are often steeped in ethnic or religious grievances, adding further complexity to the crisis.
According to Amnesty’s findings, “in the two years since the current government has been in power, at least 10,217 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen.”
The report highlighted Benue State as suffering the highest casualty count with 6,896 deaths, followed by Plateau State with 2,630 fatalities. The assessment covered seven states but notably excluded Borno State — the historic epicentre of Nigeria’s long-running insurgency that began in 2009.
When Tinubu assumed office two years ago, he identified insecurity as a key challenge for his administration.
“Instead, things have only gotten worse, as the authorities continue to fail to protect the rights to life, physical integrity, liberty and the security of tens of thousands of people across the country,” said Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
Amnesty also reported a recent surge in attacks across the north, as terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and others escalate their operations.
Sanusi remarked that the “recent escalation of attacks by Boko Haram and other armed groups shows that the security measures implemented by President Tinubu’s government are simply not working.”
In a speech marking his second year in office, Tinubu maintained that Nigerian forces have “restored order, reducing and eliminating threats to lives and livelihoods” in violence-hit regions.
“With the successes achieved, farmers are back tilling the land to feed us. Highways hitherto dangerous for travellers have become safer,” he said.
Beyond the northern and central regions, Tinubu’s government is also contending with growing separatist tensions in the southeast.
