NO fewer than 6,549 Nigerians have been killed and 3,804 others abducted in incidents of mass atrocities across Nigeria since May 2024, according to data released by the Civil Society Leaders (CSL) on Wednesday, May 28.
The data identified Borno, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Benue, and Plateau as the six most dangerous states in 2024, while Katsina, Sokoto, Niger, Borno, Zamfara, and Kaduna were listed as the states with the highest risk of abduction.
The data was released at a media briefing by the Executive Director of Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu, in commemoration of its 8th National Day of Mourning victims of mass atrocities.
“In 2024, no fewer than 5,353 people were killed and 5,171 abducted. An additional 1,196 people have been killed, and 1,367 kidnapped so far in 2025 bringing the number to at least 6,549 Nigerians killed, and 3,804 abducted across the country since the last commemoration of the National Day of Mourning on May 28, 2024.”
Baiyewu, who explained that the data was curated from terrorists and bandits’ atrocities across the country, said that the CSL was making a patriotic call for justice amid the deafening silence of Nigerian leaders.
While assessing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second year in office, Baiyewu emphasised his administration’s continued failure to address the widespread insecurity across the country.
“We demand the President and his administration fulfil their constitutional duty of ensuring the security and welfare of all Nigerians in accordance with Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution as amended.”
The group raised alarm on the emerging terror groups such as Lakurawa and Mahmuda, stating that they operated openly, extorting residents, imposing taxes and demanding ransom in exchange for peace.
In seven separate demands, the group challenged the Nigerian government to track and disrupt ransom and extortion networks and hold the enablers and funders of terror accountable.
It also urged the government to investigate and prosecute all perpetrators of violent crimes, including those responsible for election-related violence in 2023.
The ICIR reported how Tinubu’s government has been struggling with widespread insecurity across Nigeria
Despite pledges to tackle terrorism, banditry, and violent crimes, the nation continues to grapple with persistent killings, ransom kidnappings, and assaults on rural communities.
Recent months have seen a surge in violence across regions, raising concerns about the government’s state and federal capacity or willingness to protect its citizens.
From Benue to Borno, Plateau to Niger, and Ondo to Sokoto, state governors are struggling to contain the menace, as armed groups unleash chaos, displace communities, and cripple local economies, particularly agriculture.
Before assuming power, Tinubu repeatedly urged former president Goodluck Jonathan to resign over Boko Haram attacks.
Two years into his tenure, the nation has been under the blanket of insecurity.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.