By Sunday Ani
The Niger Delta Youth Congress (NDYC) has condemned a recent report by Amnesty International, which claimed that over 10,217 Nigerians have been killed in the past two years under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The NDYC described the report as filled with unverified data, outrageous exaggerations, and politically motivated narratives aimed at undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty.
The group’s National Coordinator, Israel Uwejeyan, questioned the credibility of Amnesty International’s figures, particularly the claims of 6,896 people killed in Benue State and 2,630 in Plateau State within two years, saying the statistics were ridiculous and borders on reckless incitement.
It accused Amnesty International of demonstrating an alarming bias against the Nigerian state, repeatedly producing reports with exaggerated claims and politically motivated narratives designed to inject fear, discredit the government and erode public confidence in the nation’s security institutions.
It emphasised the government’s efforts to address security challenges, including modernising security operations, eliminating key bandit leaders, enhancing intelligence frameworks, supporting internally displaced persons, and engaging community stakeholders to foster reconciliation.
The organisation argued that Amnesty International’s report completely disregarded the realities and instead cherry-picked incidents to weave a narrative of failure and anarchy.
It demanded that Amnesty International retracts the report, issues a public apology to Nigerians, and ceases all further attempts to destabilise the country through propaganda, exaggeration and foreign-funded disinformation.
The NDYC called on the international community, development partners and all patriotic Nigerians to reject the report.
It stressed that Nigeria is not a failed state but a resilient nation confronting its internal issues head-on and building mechanisms to ensure lasting peace.
It urged patriotic Nigerians to remain vigilant, united, focused and not allow lies and foreign propaganda to divide them or derail their journey towards a stronger, safer and more prosperous nation.
“Their continuous interference in Nigeria’s domestic affairs, often without rigorous evidence or constructive engagement, suggests an ulterior motive far removed from the principles of justice or peace.
“The Nigerian government is not blind to the security challenges confronting various parts of the country. However, to present these challenges as an uncontrollable bloodbath, while ignoring the extensive and ongoing counter-insurgency, peace-building and community stabilisation efforts is deceptive and disingenuous.
“President Tinubu’s administration has consistently invested in modernizing security operations, eliminating key bandit leaders, enhancing intelligence frameworks, supporting internally displaced persons, and engaging community stakeholders to foster reconciliation. Amnesty International’s report completely disregarded these realities and instead cherry-picked incidents to weave a narrative of failure and anarchy.
“The NDYC questions where and how Amnesty International obtains its data. Who verifies their so-called investigations? Which independent and credible Nigerian organisations have validated these claims?
“If Amnesty International truly has the welfare of Nigerians at heart, it should work with local organisations and government agencies in data collection, policy development and peace-building.”