The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has issued a rebuttal to a recent report by Amnesty International, describing it as lacking contextual depth and failing to acknowledge the significant achievements of the Nigerian Armed Forces in tackling insecurity across the country.
Amnesty International had, in a report on Wednesday, raised the alarm over what it describes as the Nigerian government’s failure to protect citizens from relentless attacks by armed groups and bandits.
The human rights organisation added that at least 10,217 people have been killed and 672 villages sacked in the past two years, noting that Benue State recorded the highest number of deaths with 6,896 people killed, followed by Plateau State with 2,630 deaths.
Countering the report on Friday, the DHQ posited that since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, the military had achieved significant milestones in degrading terrorist networks, disrupting criminal syndicates, and restoring civil authority across many volatile regions.
The DHQ, in a statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, expressed concern over what it called “sweeping generalisations” and “unverified statistics” in Amnesty’s report.
Kangye said that while it respects the role of civil society in promoting accountability, the report disregards the asymmetric nature of the threats facing the country and the complex socio-political context within which the Armed Forces operate.
He disclosed that within the said period over 5,000 insurgents and bandits have been neutralized across multiple theatres of operation, including the Northeast, Northwest, and North Central.
Also, over 350 communities and villages previously under the control of terrorists and bandits, particularly in Borno, Niger, Zamfara, and Katsina, recovered.
Kangye said the military in partnership with local intelligence networks, successfully rescued over 1,200 abducted civilians, including women and children, many of whom were kidnapped in mass abduction incidents.
He said the deployment of Quick Response Forces (QRFs), Forward Operating Bases, and enhanced coordination with state governments and community leaders have improved civil-military relations with communities.
The DHQ spokesman added that “The take-off of Operation Safe Haven, Operation Hadarin Daji, and Operation Whirl Stroke has led to significant suppression of militia activities and inter-communal violence.”
Major General Kangye emphasized that in surveillance and air power enhancement, the NAF has conducted over 500 successful air interdictions, close air support among other operation while significantly degrading the movement and logistics capability of armed groups noting that the use of modern surveillance drones and night operations has improved tactical superiority and minimized civilian casualties.
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He disclosed that military engineering corps have secured and rehabilitated key transportation and communication corridors previously vulnerable to attacks resulting in increased joint patrols along porous border regions with Cameroon, Niger, and Chad which has curtailed cross-border infiltration.
Addressing the Plateau situation, Kangye faulted Amnesty’s report, describing it as a deliberate effort to mislead the general public towards galvanizing negative public opinion against the military.
DHQ said, “The number of deaths quoted in the report does not reflect the actual situation in Plateau State.
“Following the reorganization of deployments and conduct of broad-spectrum subsidiary operations in Plateau State from July 2023, the State witnessed continuous improvement until the coordinated attacks in some communities in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs of Plateau State on 2 and 14 April 2025.
“The period covered in the press release did not record coordinated attacks on communities except for the Christmas Eve 2023 and the recent security breaches in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs of Plateau State.
“Therefore, the allegation of killing of 2,630 persons in Plateau State in the last 2 years is a concoction of falsehood in pursuant of self-serving agenda.
“Similarly, nothing can be farther from the truth that the alleged displacement of 167 communities in Plateau State in the last 2 years.
“Although the crisis in Plateau State resulted in displacement of some communities in 2011, there were no further displacements in the State between 2023 and 2025 as claimed in the report.
“Rather, due to the improved security situation, the Plateau State Government convened a committee for the resettlement of displaced persons in their ancestral homes in 2024.
“The committee is still finalizing arrangements for the return of persons displaced to their various communities.
“Therefore, the allegations raised in the press release by Amnesty International could be discountenanced.”
