Dozens of civil society organisations across Nigeria have accused the Federal Government of failing in its constitutional duty to protect citizens, declaring that “Nigerian lives matter” amid worsening killings, kidnappings and violent attacks across the country.
In a joint statement released Thursday to mark the 9th National Day of Mourning, over 90 civil society groups condemned what they described as the government’s inability to halt “endemic violence” despite rising death tolls and mass abductions nationwide.
Among the organisations that signed the statement are Amnesty International Nigeria, BudgIT, SERAP, Yiaga Africa, CISLAC, SBM Intelligence, Enough Is Enough, Global Rights, Gatefield, The Kukah Centre, CAPPA, HEDA, Media Rights Agenda and several others.
The organisations said the continued bloodshed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration reflects “deeper governance failures and the dangerous erosion of the value placed on human life.”
“We insist that Nigerian lives matter and demand justice,” the groups declared.
Citing data from massatrocities.org, the coalition said at least 19,980 people have been killed and 12,362 abducted in incidents of mass atrocities and violent attacks since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
The statement further revealed that at least 1,486 security personnel had also been killed in active duty during the same period.
“Even if we were to go by the numbers alone, these figures are alarming for a country that insists it is not at war,” the statement read.
The coalition accused political leaders of prioritising 2027 election calculations over the worsening security crisis ravaging communities across the country.
“We are bothered that rather than ascribe a high premium to citizens’ lives and property and passionately fight to end the insecurity that has beset us, Nigeria’s political class is obsessed with their tussle for power and are hyper-focused on permutations for the 2027 elections,” the statement said.
In one of the strongest lines of the statement, the groups warned politicians that “corpses do not vote,” insisting that entire communities were being wiped out while leaders focused on power struggles.
The organisations also expressed concern over increasing cases of extrajudicial killings, abuses by security agencies and repeated “accidental airstrikes” on civilian communities.
“The continued absence of transparent investigations and accountability in many of these incidents further reinforces the culture of impunity,” they said.
The coalition linked insecurity to worsening poverty and hunger, noting that many farmers can no longer access their farmlands safely while schools increasingly operate under the fear of attacks and abductions.
According to the statement, at least 865 students have been abducted from schools across Nigeria since 2023, contributing to the country’s growing out-of-school children crisis.
“As we commemorate this year’s National Day of Mourning, we stand in solidarity with grieving families, abductees, survivors living with trauma, internally displaced persons, devastated communities, and security personnel killed in the line of duty,” the statement added.
The groups called on the Federal Government to fulfil its constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property, prosecute perpetrators of violent crimes, strengthen intelligence gathering, disrupt kidnapping and ransom networks, and provide rehabilitation and psychosocial support for victims of violence.
“Nigeria cannot continue to gather annually to mourn the dead while failing daily to protect the living,” the statement stressed.