ABUJA, Nigeria – A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the auspices of the Civil Society Joint Action Group has stated that at least 2,423 people have been killed, while 1,872 were abducted within eight months of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani revealed this while addressing a press conference on Monday in Abuja on behalf of the coalition, urging the President to declare a state of emergency on the current security situation in the country, reports SaharaReporters.
He added that there should be a timeline that the president would give to the security agencies to tackle insecurity, necessitating their call for a declaration of a state of emergency on kidnapping and other forms of terrorism.
He said, “Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria under the auspices of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities, and Nigeria Mourns, are deeply concerned by the deteriorating state of security across Nigeria and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and therefore call on the Nigerian government to take actionable steps to end the endemic insecurity, mitigate further attacks by kidnap syndicates and terrorist groups, and, account for persons missing in these attacks.
“Mass atrocities fatality tracking across the country by Nigeria Mourns reveals that in President Buhari’s second term alone (2019 to 2023), after Buhari as a former military general, gained public trust to run as president by promising to curb the then fledgling insecurity, at least 24,816 Nigerians lost their lives, and at least 15,597 persons were abducted.
“This alarming trend has continued despite President Tinubu’s assurance at the beginning of his presidency in May 2023 to tackle insecurity. It has now been eight months since President Tinubu took his oath of office and yet, things have failed to improve. Our tracking shows at least 2,423 people have been killed in mass atrocities-related incidents and at least 1,872 persons were abducted since the beginning of President Tinubu’s administration till January 26, 2024.
“We are particularly concerned about the upsurge in abductions, noting that at least 230 incidents, in most of which multiple victims were involved, occurred within the first two weeks of January 2024 alone.”
Rafsanjani said over the past decade and a half, insecurity in Nigeria has spiralled due to a variety of violent phenomena, including but not limited to terrorist activities in the entire northern region, terror pillages otherwise known as banditry in the north-west, farmer-herder violence in the Middle Belt, including the Benue Valley, secessionist struggles in the south-east, piracy in the country’s southern coast, inter-communal attacks, political violence, cult-gang.
Centurypost
