A coalition of Civil Society Organisations has criticised the Federal Government over the worsening insecurity in the country, accusing authorities of failing in their constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property.
The groups made the remarks on Thursday during the 9th National Day of Mourning, an annual event held in honour of victims of violent attacks and mass atrocities across Nigeria.
In a joint statement signed by over 90 organisations, including Amnesty International Nigeria, BudgIT, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Yiaga Africa and Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, the coalition declared that “Nigerian lives matter.”
The organisations said the yearly commemoration had become a painful reminder of what they described as the government’s inability to stop widespread killings and violence across the country.
“The National Day of Mourning is a citizen-led initiative established to accord dignity to victims of mass atrocities and violent killings across Nigeria and to demand accountability from those constitutionally entrusted with the protection of lives and property,” the statement read.
The coalition noted that insecurity had continued to worsen despite constitutional provisions under Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which places responsibility for the welfare and security of citizens on the state.
Citing figures from massatrocities.org, the groups claimed that since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, at least 19,980 people had been killed while 12,362 others were abducted in violent attacks across Nigeria.
According to the statement, no fewer than 1,486 security personnel had also lost their lives in active service, while at least 865 students had been abducted from schools since 2023.
The organisations said the figures reflected a breakdown of the country’s protection systems and violated citizens’ constitutional rights to life and dignity.
“These incidents of violence violate citizens’ right to life and dignity as guaranteed under Sections 33 and 34 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria,” the coalition stated.
The groups further lamented recurring attacks across different regions of the country, alleging that perpetrators continued to operate freely while affected communities were left without justice or rehabilitation.
“The persistence of these atrocities reflects deeper governance failures and the dangerous erosion of the value placed on human life,” the statement added.
The coalition also condemned incidents of extrajudicial killings and civilian casualties during security operations, including repeated accidental airstrikes on communities.
It questioned the effectiveness of the country’s intelligence and security systems in tackling kidnappings and ransom operations.
“We are disturbed by the contradiction between the state’s demonstrated surveillance capabilities and its apparent inability to decisively disrupt kidnapping and ransom networks operating across the country,” the statement said.
The organisations also criticised political leaders for allegedly focusing more on the 2027 general elections than addressing the security crisis.
“We remind them that corpses do not vote and that the erasure of communities means that those wards cannot record veritable votes,” the coalition warned.
The groups expressed solidarity with victims of violence, including grieving families, abductees, displaced persons, traumatised survivors and security personnel killed in the line of duty.
They urged the Federal Government to strengthen security and accountability mechanisms by prosecuting perpetrators of violence, improving intelligence-led policing, disrupting ransom financing networks and expanding humanitarian support for displaced persons and survivors.
The coalition’s statement came amid renewed concerns over school abductions in parts of the country.
Between May 13 and 15, at least 82 pupils were reportedly abducted during separate attacks in Borno State and Oyo State.
In Borno, 42 pupils were kidnapped after armed groups attacked schools in Askira Uba and Chibok Local Government Areas.
Similarly, 40 pupils were abducted in Oyo State during coordinated attacks on Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, in Oriire Local Government Area.
The Oyo attack also claimed the lives of a mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, a motorcyclist and a security operative involved in rescue efforts.
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