As the 2024 National Summit on Mass Atrocities commenced on Wednesday, Global Rights, Nigeria, revealed alarming statistics on the country’s insecurity situation.
Executive Director, Abiodun Baiyewu, disclosed that 24,816 people have been killed and 15,597 kidnapped in mass atrocities across Nigeria in the past five years.
Baiyewu highlighted the gravity of the situation, citing data that shows the devastating impact of insecurity, including 3.4 million internally displaced people across Nigeria and 100,000 refugees in neighbouring countries.
“In 2023 alone, at least 457,000 people were displaced across Nigeria, with insecurity accounting for 291,000 of these displacements—nearly double the 148,000 recorded in 2022,” she added.
According to Baiyewu, “These numbers are not mere statistics; they represent lives disrupted, dreams shattered, families torn apart, and communities left in anguish.”
She emphasised the urgent need for action, saying, “The sense of urgency that precipitated the first summit on mass atrocities is the sense with which we engage the fifth: the sense that we need to act fast to pull our country back from the dangerous precipice we have found ourselves.”
Baiyewu identified underlying governance failures, including the weaponisation of sexual violence, lack of access to education, food insecurity, energy poverty, mineral-linked conflicts, and the pervasive culture of impunity that allows these atrocities to persist.
She noted that the situation has led to widespread protests, with Nigerians demanding an end to bad governance and fulfilment of the government’s constitutional mandate.
“Pushed to the walls, Nigerians have picked up their placards to express their outrage against the government for failing to fulfil their obligations and protect them,” Baiyewu said.
Baiyewu urged the government to “step to the plate and fulfil its constitutional mandate of ensuring the welfare and security of all citizens.”
The summit, themed “A Standing Responsibility to Protect”, aims to address the pressing issues of insecurity and governance failures in Nigeria.
Baiyewu counseled, “In the light of these recent events, we must reexamine the state of insecurity in Nigeria, its devastating impact on the lives of Nigerians, and weigh the government’s efforts to address these critical issues.”
- Retired Police Officers Protest at Aso Rock Over Unsigned Pension Bill - April 20, 2026
- Pressure Mounts on INEC Chair to Resign Over Money Politics - April 20, 2026
- Tinubu Approves ₦15bn Take-Off Grant for New Police Academy in Ogun - April 20, 2026