A coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria under the auspices of the Civil Society Joint Action Group have revealed that at least 2,423 people were killed, while 1,872 abducted within eight months of President Bola Tinubu’s presidency.
Addressing a press conference on Monday in Abuja on behalf of the coalition, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani also called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on kidnapping and other forms of terrorism.
It said that there should be a timeline that the president would give to the security agencies to tackle insecurity.
It noted that these forms of insecurity have jeopardised the security and wellbeing of Nigerians, and have progressively deteriorated over the years.
The coalition stated: “Mass atrocities fatality tracking across the country by Nigeria Mourns reveals that in President Buhari’s second term alone (2019 to 2023), at least 24,816 Nigerians lost their lives, and at least 15,597 persons were abducted.
“This alarming trend has continued in spite of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assurance at the beginning of his presidency in May 2023 to tackle insecurity.
“It has now been 8 months since President Tinubu took his oath of office and yet, things have failed to improve. Our tracking shows at least 2,423 people have been killed in mass atrocities-related incidents and at least 1,872 persons were abducted since the beginning of President Tinubu’s administration till January 26, 2024.
“We are particularly concerned about the upsurge in abductions, noting that at least 230 incidents, in most of which multiple victims were involved, occurred within the first 2 weeks of January 2024 alone.”
It noted that failed by law enforcement, families are resorting to publicly crowdfund to pay ransoms without interference from the government.
The coalition wondered why the same government was quick to freeze the bank accounts of donors and recipients of funding for #EndSARS, failed to take concrete action to protect citizens against organized crime.
It said: “We are equally dismayed by the willingness of some political leaders and politically exposed persons to publicly support ransom payments; and question their values and alliances. Their actions and utterances reflect a lack of faith in the system of which they are guardians, and their nonchalant attitude towards the potential consequences, including directly funding future attacks.”
The coalition expressed concern that the current administration has continued the legacy of failing to decisively deal with the atrocious onslaughts against citizens within the nation’s borders, stressing that Nigerians who are being further impoverished by the escalating insecurity, now perpetually live in fear of being attacked, abducted or killed.
It declared: “We hereby call upon President Bola Tinubu as the lead agent of government to urgently declare a state of emergency on kidnapping and other forms of terrorism