Two leading rights groups, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and the National Coalition Against Mass Killings, Extra-Judicial Killings, Mob Actions, and Impunity (NCAMKI), have rejected the Federal Government’s claims of improved security, insisting that mass killings and abductions are still spreading across the country.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), led by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement yesterday, faulted the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and the service chiefs for celebrating the capture of two terrorist leaders.
The NSA, alongside the Inspector-General of Police and military chiefs, had announced the arrest of Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, and his deputy, Mahmud Al-Nigeria.
But HURIWA argued that such celebration was misplaced when ordinary Nigerians in Benue, Plateau, Kwara, and Zamfara states continue to face almost daily attacks.
The group said: “It is in the light of the above factual claims by the Catholic Priests in Benue State that the rights group wondered why the NSA and other Service Chiefs including the Inspector-General of Police are in celebratory moods for capturing just two kingpins of terrorism in Nigeria even as thousands of other Nigerians are facing imminent attacks by terrorists made up mostly of Fulani herders.”
HURIWA also cited recent incidents, including the August 16 attack on Bankole town in Ifelodun Local Council of Kwara State. More than 50 gunmen stormed the town at about 9:00 p.m., killed the Olu Ode of Bankole, kidnapped a young girl named Mary, and abducted other residents.
The group also condemned the invasion of St. Paul’s Parish, Aye-Twar Agu Centre, in Katsina-Ala Local Council of Benue State, where Catholic priests reported the destruction of the church, burning of the parish house, and the occupation of 26 outstations by armed herdsmen.
According to Rev. Fr. Samuel Fila, Chairman of the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests’ Association, Katsina-Ala Diocese: “The barbaric attack of August 11, 2025 has finally shut down all pastoral activities since all 26 outstations have been occupied by the armed herdsmen long before now. The malevolent attack left in its wake the desecration and destruction of the Parish Church, the destruction of the Parish Secretariat, the burning to ashes of the Father’s House, destruction of household items, pastoral logistics and vehicles in addition to many other valuable items.”
HURIWA also accused security agencies of committing human rights violations in the South-East, particularly the forced disappearance of youths, and urged the government to either speedily prosecute arrested terrorists or hand them over to the International Criminal Court.
Meanwhile, NCAMKI, in its public situation report covering July 15 to August 14, 2025, warned that the government’s security claims did not reflect reality.
The coalition reported that 101 Nigerians were killed in seven major violent incidents across Zamfara, Plateau, Niger, Benue, Bauchi, Enugu, and the Federal Capital Territory. It cited, among others, the execution of 38 hostages in Zamfara’s Banga village despite a ransom of N50 million being paid, as well as the killing of a young phone repairer by a soldier in Abuja’s Wuse district.
The coalition said: “Security cannot be declared improved when rural communities remain under siege by armed groups. Peace cannot be claimed when citizens live in fear of both criminal elements and unlawful security force actions. Improvement must be measured by lives saved, not by political narratives.”
NCAMKI stressed that Nigerians remain unsafe because government efforts have focused more on public relations than measurable reforms, and called on authorities to demonstrate how they intend to protect vulnerable communities by holding both terrorists and security operatives accountable.
Photo and Caption:Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa
