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By John Ogunsemore
Amnesty International Nigeria has accused Nigerian authorities of abandoning rural communities to the mercy of rampaging gunmen.
The global human rights group stated this in a Sunday statement while decrying the alleged killing of no fewer than 41 persons in separate coordinated attacks in Niger, Plateau and Kaduna states in recent days.
Amnesty lamented that rural communities especially in the North have faced sustained hostilities since 2020 without adequate protection from the authorities.
The statement reads, “Amnesty International strongly condemns the killing of at least 30 people and the abduction of many by gunmen at at Kasuwan Daji Kabe District, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
“Apart from slaughtering people the gunmen also set the village market ablaze, looted food items and other valuables.
“The attack on Saturday 3 January 2026 is yet another indication of the utter failure of the Nigerian authorities to protect lives.
“This is coming only days after gunmen attacked a community in Plateau State’s Qua’an-Pan Local Government Area, killing at least seven people. During the attack at Bong village, gunmen conducted house-to-house search and kill operation.
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“Also on Saturday 3 January 2026, gunmen attacked Sabon Kaura community of Agunu ward Kachia LGA of Kaduna state, killing 4 members of the same family. The attack is part of wider escalation of attack on rural communities in the southern parts of Kaduna state.
“The Nigerian authorities have left rural communities at the mercy of rampaging gunmen who have killed thousands of people in the north of the country since the beginning of 2020.”
In the wake of the Kasuwan Daji attack, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, service chiefs, Inspector General of Police and Director-General of Department of State Services (DSS) to fish out the attackers and bring them to justice.
However, Amnesty stated that repeated assurances from the presidency have yielded no positive results.
“President Bola Tinubu’s claims that 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.
“The consistent failure to bring the suspected perpetrators to justice is unacceptable. Some affected villagers told Amnesty International that they are increasingly feeling that the government left them at the mercy of their attackers.
“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,” the group added.
