GLOBAL  human rights organization, Amnesty International, has accused Nigerian authorities of encouraging impunity by failing to bring those responsible for the killings of innocent Nigerians to justice.

The organization made this known on Wednesday in a press statement made available to the media. With 1,813 people killed in 17 states in 2018 alone, Amnesty International says whatever measures the security forces are taking at the moment,  is not working.

The 2018 figure is almost twice  the number of victims recorded last year.

Amnesty International says failure of security makes attacks and reprisals frequent.

By failing to hold murderers to account, Nigerian authorities are encouraging impunity that is fueling rising insecurity across the country, Amnesty International says.

Director, AmnestyInternational Nigeria,Osai Ojigho, expressed concern about the spate of killings across the country,especially the communal clashes between farmers and herders and attacks by bandits across at least 17 states.

With military deployment in more than 30 states, the organization sighted the recent incidence in Plateau State, where it claimed at least 200 villagers were killed in an attack that lasted seven hours without intervention from security forces.

“The authorities have a responsibility to protect lives and properties, but they are clearly not doing so going by what is happening,” Ojigho said, adding, “We hope that President Buhari’s commitment to bring those suspected to be criminally responsible for the killings in Plateau State to justice will break the impunity that has spread through the country.

“Making arrests and bringing to justice those suspected to be responsible for these attacks is crucial in ending the killings that are gradually turning into almost a daily occurrence. In many instances these killings happen; no arrest takes place,” says Ojigho.

The organization, which at several times, had accused Nigerian security forces of grave human rights violations, says it is conducting a research into the killings in the country.

“Government must answer these questions: who are these attackers,where do they come from, where do they go after attacks, who arm them, why is the security forces’ response time very slow?” Amnesty International also expressed concern about the impact of the killings on food security, especially as villages are deserted and villagers scared of going to farm.

“This is the peak of farming season, and communities affected by this wave of violence are largely agrarian. But because of fear of attacks they either have been displaced or unable to cultivate their farms, therefore, their major source of food and income threatened by the attacks,” Ojigho says.

The death toll, according to Amnesty International, reflects killings as a result of farmers-herders conflict, communal clashes, Boko Haram attacks and banditry.