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A public affairs analyst, Mr Tersoo Chiahemen, has faulted the reports of Amnesty International, AI, which claimed that over 10,000 Nigerians have been killed by bandits in the two-year tenure of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He alleged that the report by the international organization was exaggerated and capable of causing unnecessary tension and apprehension in the country.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday, Chiahemen noted with regret that Amnesty International which used to be a source of credible and impeccable information has suddenly turned itself into a tool for sensationalism and irritable soft-power coercion.
Amnesty International had in its reports on killings in Nigeria claimed that over 10,000 people have been killed by bandits and armed groups in Northern Nigeria since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office two years ago.
The international body also said that bandits have sacked no fewer than 672 villages during the two-year period under review.
The report indicated that 6,896 people were killed in Benue and 2,630 in Plateau, representing over 98% of the deaths it attributed to the entire country.
However, the public affairs analyst while alleging exaggeration in the figure, said that the report demands a response from the Nigerian government and its citizens as well as the international community and Amnesty’s leadership to determine its credibility, veracity and fairness.
“Scrutiny is what this report sorely needs. The horrific picture painted in alluding to 6,896 people killed in Benue and 2,630 in Plateau, representing over 98% of the deaths it attributes to the entire country, is beyond reason.
“This is not just improbable, it is inflammatory and potentially dangerous. By exaggerating fatalities in two ethnically and religiously sensitive states, the report risks exacerbating tensions and deepening divisions,”
He said that contrary to Amnesty’s claims, data from another body, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, ACLED, a globally respected and methodologically sound organization tells a starkly different story.
According to him, ACLED’s report during the same period put the total fatalities in Benue and Plateau from 2023 to 2025 at 2,132.
He explained that the figures indicated a downward trend as against Amnesty International’s increase in the killings by bandits.
He said, “Amnesty International which was once perceived as a beacon of rigorous research and moral clarity in the fight for global human rights had glaringly descended in what looked like political mud. It’s latest report has traded professionalism for pointless propaganda.
“To suggest that the Nigerian government is doing little beyond media statements is a baseless smear. The Tinubu administration has deployed strategic military operations, invested in community-led security architecture and prioritized disarmament and peacebuilding in volatile regions.
“Yes, challenges persist especially in rural and border areas, but the blanket assertion of state inaction is both inaccurate, myopic, and most unfair.
“The question must now be asked: Is Amnesty International still committed to truth and justice in Nigeria, or has it become a tool for sensationalism and soft-power coercion? Its latest report is bereft of methodological clarity, inflated in its numbers and dangerously divisive in its conclusions and demands a response not just from the Nigerian government, but from the international community and Amnesty’s own leadership,” he said.
Chiahemen, therefore challenged Amnesty International to engage with credible data institutions like ACLED and Nigerian civil society actors to support it in doing a proper and professionally grounded job.
“And more importantly, it must ask itself whether it still has the moral and analytical capacity to do the work it claims to champion. Until then, we are left with a troubling truth: Amnesty’s report is not a wake-up call.
It is a work of fiction. And one that does more harm than good”.
English (US) ·