A chilling report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has revealed that at least 3,584 people were killed and 3,012 kidnapped across Nigeria between January 2024 and April this year.
This report underscores the country’s deepening human rights crisis.
The figures, sourced from the NHRC’s Human Rights Violation Dashboard journalists on Sunday, highlight a grim trend of violence sweeping across states such as Kaduna, Benue, Katsina, Plateau, and Borno, regions consistently marked by conflict, banditry, and insurgency.
Throughout the 15- month period under review, the NHRC documented a disturbing mix of human rights abuses: extrajudicial killings, mob violence, attacks by armed groups, and increasing fatalities from preventable incidents such as road and boat accidents.
In June 2024, the Commission reported a sharp rise in mob justice. Among the cases were a mob lynching over blasphemy in Bauchi, a killing linked to infidelity in Ondo, and a violent stabbing involving a lover’s dispute in Ogun State.
State actors were also implicated. The NHRC reported extrajudicial killings involving police and military personnel in locations including Yauri (Kebbi), Ilorin, Abuja (FCT), and Jos.
The commission also tracked coordinated attacks by bandits and terrorists. Four such attacks in Katsina alone resulted in 87 deaths and 56 abductions.
In the months that followed, peaceful assembly and citizens’ rights to protest came under threat. Between July and August 2024, the NHRC flagged abuses ranging from the killing of protesters to indiscriminate arrests and prolonged detention. During the same period, natural disasters such as flooding and displacement further burdened already vulnerable communities.
In September 2024, 141 people were killed in various incidents, with an additional 191 dying in road accidents. The month’s horrors included the killing of three elderly individuals accused of witchcraft in Adamawa, the torture of a 12-year-old in Akwa Ibom, and the stabbing of a woman in Kano.
Deaths from mob violence were also recorded in Lagos, Ondo, Imo, and Abuja, where a motorcycle thief was reportedly burned alive. Communal violence in Anambra and cult clashes in Imo and Southern Kaduna left dozens dead.
By October 2024, mass abductions and terror attacks intensified. In Sokoto, a new terrorist faction known as Lakawura emerged. Meanwhile, Anambra recorded 20 cult-related killings, and a fuel tanker explosion in Jigawa claimed 167 lives.
In November, 69 people were killed in separate attacks in Benue, and the Lakawura sect launched deadly operations in Kebbi State. The military and police were again cited for extrajudicial killings in Kwara, Ebonyi, Plateau, and Anambra.
One of the most devastating tragedies occurred on the River Niger, where a boat accident claimed the lives of 200 women. Another boat accident in Niger State took 22 more lives.
December 2024 brought no relief. Zamfara recorded 71 abductions and 13 killings. Gunmen murdered two policemen in Anambra, while an airstrike by the Nigerian Armed Forces reportedly killed civilians in Sokoto. In a disturbing twist, stampedes during palliative distributions in Oyo, Anambra, and Abuja led to over 70 deaths.
A police officer in Delta killed a teenage boy over fireworks. In Jos, a soldier fatally stabbed a tricycle operator, while a 35-year-old man was tortured to death in Kwara State.
Between January and March 2025, violence surged across the North-West and North-Central regions. The resurgence of Boko Haram in Borno and Yobe, alongside renewed activity by the Lakawura sect, resulted in unprecedented casualties. In March alone, the NHRC recorded 570 killings and 278 abductions, a 160% and 240% increase, respectively.
The NHRC, in partnership with international organisations including the UNDP, OHCHR, and GANHRI, continues to monitor and report these abuses through its monthly dashboard, powered by data from 38 regional offices and its national Human Rights Observatory.
