Nigeria records 2,266 insurgent-related deaths in first half of 2025
The deaths, documented nationwide, represent more than double the 1,083 fatalities recorded during the same period last year and the 2,194 fatalities reported for all of 2024.
Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has revealed that at least 2,266 people were killed by insurgents across the country between January and June 2025, surpassing the total number of conflict-related deaths recorded in all of 2024.
The deaths, documented nationwide, represent more than double the 1,083 fatalities recorded during the same period last year and the 2,194 fatalities reported for all of 2024.
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According to NHRC, the month of June accounted for 606 of the reported deaths, with the worst-hit areas being the Yelewata and Dauda communities in Benue State, where coordinated attacks by armed men left an estimated 200 people dead.
NHRC also revealed that 857 people were abducted by insurgents in the first six months of 2025, a drop from 1,461 over the same period last year.
Similarly, at least 17 soldiers were killed in Kaduna and Niger states, while over 40 members of the Civilian Joint Task Force were slain in Zamfara.
Presenting the report in Abuja, NHRC Executive Secretary Tony Ojukwu called for urgent intervention, emphasising the human toll behind the findings.
"These were not just numbers, they were families, futures, and livelihoods shattered in acts of mindless violence," he said.
The NHRC report echoes the findings of a separate May 2025 report by Amnesty International, which accused Nigerian authorities of failing to protect citizens from bandits and insurgents, particularly in the country's northern states.
According to Amnesty, at least 10,217 people have been killed since President Bola Tinubu took office two years ago, with Benue and Plateau states bearing the brunt of the bloodshed. Benue alone recorded 6,896 deaths, while Plateau followed with 2,630.
Amnesty's report similarly highlighted a disturbing pattern of insurgents targeting villages and critical infrastructure like boreholes, schools and places of worship.
The human toll has triggered widespread displacement, with over 450,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) documented in Benue and 65,000 in Plateau. In some cases, displaced persons were forced to flee a second time after IDP camps themselves were attacked by insurgents.
According to Amnesty International Nigeria director Isa Sanusi, the growing violence and emergence of new armed groups signal a failure to protect citizens by the current administration.
"Today 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," Sanusi said then.
"President Tinubu must fulfil his promises to Nigerians and urgently address the resurgence of the nation's endemic security crisis. The recent escalation of attacks by Boko Haram and other armed groups shows that the security measures implemented by President Tinubu's government are simply not working."
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