By: Manoah Kikekon
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| President Bola Tinubu and Amnesty International |
Amnesty International has issued a scathing condemnation of the Nigerian federal government’s failure to protect Plateau State residents from relentless deadly attacks by armed gunmen. The rights group accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of negligence, leaving rural communities defenseless against escalating violence.
In the latest bloodshed, 17 villagers returning from Bokkos market were brutally slaughtered near Chirang village just ten days after another attack in Riyom Local Government Area left 27 dead . Amnesty International described the assaults as systematic, with gunmen operating "with utter impunity" while security forces fail to intervene effectively .
The organization highlighted that Plateau State has suffered over 2,630 killings since Tinubu took office two years ago, with attacks often targeting farming communities in a deadly cycle of communal clashes and bandit raids .
Despite Tinubu’s public condemnations and orders for investigations such as after the April 14 massacre in Zikke village, where 54 were killed Amnesty insists that "bland statements" are insufficient . The group noted that security lapses persist, with no meaningful accountability for perpetrators .
In a recent meeting with security chiefs, Tinubu demanded a "fresh security blueprint," directing intelligence agencies to engage state authorities in Plateau, Benue, and Borno. However, critics argue that these measures have yet to translate into tangible protection for vulnerable civilians .
The violence in Plateau is part of a wider surge in Nigeria’s northern and central regions, where over 10,000 people have been killed in two years under Tinubu’s watch . Amnesty attributes the crisis to unchecked banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, and government inaction, warning of a looming humanitarian disaster as displaced farmers lose livelihoods.