Amnesty International has stated that the Nigerian authorities have left rural communities at the mercy of rampaging gunmen who have killed at least 1,126 people in the north of the country since January.
The organization stated that civilians in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara states have continuously been under attack.
According to the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, terrifying attacks on rural communities in the north of Nigeria have been going on for years.
“The ongoing failure of security forces to take sufficient steps to protect villagers from these predictable attacks is utterly shameful.
“In addition to the security forces’ failure to heed warnings or respond in time to save lives, the fact that no perpetrators have been brought to justice leaves rural communities feeling completely exposed.
“The President claims he has repeatedly tasked security agencies to end the killing so that Nigerians can go to bed with their eyes closed, but clearly nothing has changed.”
Amnesty International is calling on Nigerian authorities to independently investigate all these deaths and ensure accountability by bringing the perpetrators to justice.
“Spate of these killings is evidence of the failure of authorities to protect the people. The inability of authorities to bring attackers to justice is fueling dangerous conspiracy theories that only escalate the violence.
“The government has an obligation to protect its population. The rising death toll in the north of Nigeria shows just how badly the authorities are failing in this responsibility”, he said.
