Bandits have killed at least 10,000 Nigerians in the first two years of President Bola Tinubu who has touted his security credentials that have brought cold comfort to millions of Nigerians, says human rights body Amnesty International.

In a report published on its website on Wednesday, Amnesty International cited a series of attacks and death tolls recorded since Mr Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023.

“A new investigation shows that, in the two years since the current government has been in power, at least 10,217 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen in Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara state,” Amnesty International said.

It disclosed that bandits sacked 672 villages in three states.

The rights group reported that Benue accounted for the highest death toll of 6,896, followed by Plateau, where 2,630 people were killed.

“In the two years since President Bola Tinubu’s government assumed power, new armed groups have emerged, including Lakurawa in Sokoto and Kebbi state, and Mamuda in Kwara state, while hundreds of villages have been sacked by gunmen in Benue, Borno, Katsina, Sokoto, Plateau and Zamfara,” the statement said.

According to the report, the majority, if not all, of those affected by these attacks are farmers, whose displacement means they can no longer cultivate their farms.

“This is causing a looming humanitarian crisis,” Amnesty International warned. “The majority of those displaced in Plateau and Katsina states told Amnesty International that they had to resort to begging to survive daily life. At Dangulbi district of Zamfara state, farmers have to watch their harvest of sweet potatoes rot because bandits have prevented them from transporting them to the nearest market.”

Isa Sanusi, the director of Amnesty International in Nigeria, stated that Mr Tinubu must fulfill his promises to Nigerians and “urgently address the resurgence of the nation’s endemic security crisis”.

Mr Sanusi said, “Today (Wednesday) marks exactly two years since President Bola Tinubu assumed office with a promise to enhance security. Instead, things have only gotten worse, as the authorities continue to fail to protect the rights to life, physical integrity, liberty and the security of tens of thousands of people across the country.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Adamu Garba Laka, the coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (Office of the National Security Adviser), dismissed Amnesty International’s report.

“We strongly advise that the said report be withheld from publication, pending a thorough engagement to address the evident gaps and potential misinformation contained therein,” Mr Laka said.

The government official alleged that the report “presents an overly alarming narrative which does not reflect the broader realities on the ground, and which risks misinforming the public, damaging the international image of the country, and inadvertently encouraging terrorists and criminal elements by exaggerating impact of their atrocities”.