Over 300 killed in February attacks across six northern states – Amnesty
Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have neutralised 29 terrorists in coordinated operations across Borno and Yobe states between Saturday and yesterday.

At least 323 people have been killed in different attacks on rural communities across six northern states within the first 20 days of February, Amnesty International has said.

The military operations were carried out in Lamusheri Village, Gujba Local Council of Yobe State, as well as at the Forward Operating Base (FOB), Limankara and Kukawa in Borno State.

In a statement yesterday, the Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force, North-East, OPHK, Lt-Col Sanni Uba, said the operations demonstrated sustained pressure on terrorist enclaves across the theatre.

“Troops of OPHK have once again demonstrated clear combat superiority by decisively thwarting coordinated terrorist attacks in Limankara and Kukawa,” he said.

According to him, 15 terrorists were neutralised in Gujba, while 14 were killed during the Kukawa operations.

He added that terrorists who attempted to infiltrate FOB Limankara were repelled.

“There were no casualties or equipment losses on the side of our troops, while human intelligence confirmed several casualties on the part of the terrorists. The situation remains firmly under control,” he said.

In a statement posted on its official X account over the weekend, Amnesty International said the killings were recorded in Benue, Katsina, Kwara, Kebbi, Niger and Zamfara states.

According to the human rights organisation, the rising death toll shows that President Bola Tinubu and his government have no effective plan for ending years of atrocities by armed groups and gunmen that have killed thousands of people.

The organisation said the continued violence and what it described as the authorities’ failure to stop the attacks and bring suspected perpetrators to justice remain a serious threat to the right to life in Nigeria.

“Incessant killings and the shocking failure of the authorities to end them and bring suspected perpetrators to justice have been and continue to be a threat to the right to life in Nigeria,” the statement read.

Amnesty said that since 2020, it has been documenting a disturbing pattern of attacks on rural communities.

According to the group, gunmen often ride into villages on motorcycles, heavily armed, and begin shooting at residents.

The attackers, it added, abduct women and girls, burn houses, steal livestock, destroy farm produce and kidnap villagers for ransom.

The group stressed that the government has a constitutional obligation to protect lives and property.