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Amnesty Int'l Asks Tinubu Government To Stop Rising Herdsmen-Farmers Killings In Nigeria

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April 2, 2025
News

Global human rights body, the Amnesty International, has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian Government of failing to address the persistent conflict between herders and farmers, leading to widespread killings and displacement.

According to the human rights organisation, at least 3,641 people were killed between January 2016 and October 2018 under the previous administration, with thousands more displaced as a result of the ongoing violence.

In a statement released on Wednesday via its official X handle, Amnesty International highlighted the alarming trend, noting that 57% of the recorded deaths occurred in 2018 alone.

The organisation identified Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Kaduna, and Zamfara states as the worst affected by brutal attacks perpetrated by herders against farming communities.

The international organisation noted that despite repeated warnings and calls for decisive action, authorities have done little to prevent these massacres or bring perpetrators to justice.

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The statement read, "Nigerian authorities consistently failed to tackle herders conflicts with farmers. At least 3,641 people were killed between January 2016 and October 2018 — and thousands displaced. Fifty seven (57%) of the 3,641 recorded deaths occurred in 2018.

"Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Kaduna and Zamfara recorded the highest number of deaths and brutal attacks of herders on farming communities."

Meanwhile, the farmer-herder crisis in Nigeria has been fuelled by competition over land and water resources, exacerbated by climate change and population growth.

However, herders, predominantly from the Fulani ethnic group, have increasingly encroached on farmland due to desertification in northern Nigeria, causing violent clashes with farming communities.

The violence has taken a heavy toll on food security and economic stability in the affected regions, as displaced farmers struggle to return to their land for cultivation.

Residents have also accused security agencies of negligence and in some cases, complicity, in failing to stop the attacks.

Despite promises by the Nigerian government to address the crisis, including the implementation of ranching policies and deployment of security forces, Amnesty International said that these measures have been largely ineffective.

[color=orange]SaharaReporters[/color]

Amnesty International highlighted the alarming trend, noting that 57% of the recorded deaths occurred in 2018 alone.

Tackling the herders-farmers conflict is complex, and President Tinubu deserves time to find lasting solutions. 🤝

US Court Orders FBI, DEA To Release Investigative Files On Tinubu Over 1990s Drug Probe

April 13, 2025
NEWS

A U.S. federal judge has ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to release investigative records relating to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stemming from a purported narcotics trafficking investigation in the 1990s.

According to PREMIUM TIMES, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia handed down the order on Tuesday, rejecting the government agencies’ attempts to withhold the documents under the so-called "Glomar response" — a policy allowing agencies to refuse to confirm or deny the existence of records.

“The claim that the Glomar responses were necessary to protect this information from public disclosure is at this point neither logical nor plausible,” Judge Howell ruled, affirming that both the FBI and DEA failed to justify their refusals under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The case was initiated by Aaron Greenspan, an American transparency advocate and founder of PlainSite.org, who filed a lawsuit in June 2023 after submitting 12 FOIA requests to various U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

These requests sought details of a federal investigation into a heroin trafficking network allegedly involving Tinubu and others, including Abiodun Agbele, Mueez Akande, and Lee Andrew Edwards.

Greenspan’s FOIA requests were earlier denied by the FBI, DEA, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of State, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), all of which invoked Glomar responses.

In his lawsuit, Greenspan argued that the agencies had improperly withheld information of significant public interest.

He also cited a verified complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1993 seeking the forfeiture of $460,000 in funds linked to Bola Tinubu, which the U.S. government alleged were proceeds of drug trafficking.

The court documents include an affidavit by Kevin Moss, a Special Agent with the IRS at the time, who detailed the activities of a heroin ring operating in the Chicago area.

The affidavit indicated that Tinubu was being investigated in connection with financial transactions that allegedly laundered proceeds from narcotics trafficking.

“There is probable cause to believe that funds in certain bank accounts controlled by Bola Tinubu were involved in financial transactions in violation of U.S. laws and represent proceeds of drug trafficking,” Moss stated in his sworn affidavit.

The same affidavit tied Tinubu to Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele, noting that Agbele, arrested after selling white heroin to an undercover DEA agent, cooperated with investigators and revealed further links within the network.

In response to the FOIA lawsuit, President Tinubu intervened in October 2023, citing privacy concerns and objecting to the release of “confidential tax records” and “documents from federal law enforcement agencies.”

However, Judge Howell ruled that the public interest in understanding the records surrounding Tinubu's alleged involvement outweighed the privacy interests claimed by the President.

“The public interest in learning about a sitting president’s possible connection to a major drug investigation is undeniably significant,” the judge wrote.

Although the CIA successfully defended its Glomar response — with the court ruling that Greenspan failed to show that the agency had officially acknowledged the existence or nonexistence of responsive records — the judge ordered all other agencies, excluding the CIA, to jointly file a report by May 2 on the status of outstanding issues in the case.

Legal analysts say the ruling could force the release of sensitive documents that have long been the subject of speculation and political controversy in Nigeria.

The forfeiture of the $460,000 in 1993 resurfaced during the 2023 Nigerian presidential elections, as opponents of Tinubu questioned his eligibility.

However, Nigeria’s election tribunal ultimately dismissed those challenges.

Reacting to the U.S. court’s decision, Greenspan said in a statement, “Transparency must prevail over secrecy when it comes to public officials. The American public, as well as Nigerians, deserve to know the truth.”

Background

In November 2024, SaharaReporters reported that U.S. law enforcement agencies had invoked the Glomar response over requests seeking criminal investigative documents concerning President Tinubu and others.

This followed numerous Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests that Plaintiff Aaron Greenspan submitted to the FBI, CIA, DEA, Executive Office for U.S Attorneys, Department of State, and the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The District of Columbia case, numbered 1:23-cv-01816-BAH, involves Greenspan versus the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and others.

The requests sought criminal investigative documents concerning third parties, Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Akande, and Agbele, who, according to Plaintiff, participated in “an international drug trafficking and money laundering ring with operations in Chicago, Illinois.”

The agencies insisted that giving out information on Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, could "cause damage to U.S. national security."

The position was stated in a memorandum filed by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

In 2023, the court declined an emergency application seeking to compel top US law enforcement agencies to hasten the release of confidential information on President Tinubu.

However, the three US agencies filed their defence against the summary judgment concerning President Bola Tinubu’s investigation records.

The CIA provided an additional rationale for its Glomar response, saying “the CIA does not reveal the identity of its human sources [because] revealing the identity of a confidential source could expose Agency tradecraft, other human sources, and specific intelligence interests and activities.”

Mary C. Williams, the Litigation Information Review Officer for the Information Review and Release Division at the CIA further explained, “Human sources can be expected to furnish information to the CIA only when they are confident the CIA can and will do everything in its power to prevent the public disclosure of their cooperation.

“In the case of a person who has been cooperating with the CIA, official confirmation of that cooperation could cause the targets to take retaliatory action against that person or against their family or friends.

“It also places in jeopardy every individual with whom the cooperating individual has had contact. Thus, the indiscretion of one source in a chain of intelligence sources can damage an entire spectrum of sources.

“As such, confirming or denying the existence of records on a particular foreign national, like Tinubu, reasonably could be expected to cause damage to U.S. national security by indicating whether or not the CIA maintained any human intelligence sources related to Tinubu, and identifying any access or lack of access any such sources had to intelligence concerning him.”

According to the court document, the remaining disputes involve Defendants’ Glomar responses to Plaintiff’s request for records about Tinubu and the DEA’s Glomar response to Plaintiff’s request for records about Agbele.

The Plaintiff also sued the Executive Office for U.S Attorneys, Department of State, and the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, but on August 13, 2024, he voluntarily dismissed those defendants.

The phrase “Glomar response” originated from a FOIA case that sought information concerning a ship named the “Hughes Glomar Explorer,” and the CIA refused to confirm or deny its relationship with the Glomar vessel because to do so would compromise the national security or divulge intelligence sources and methods.

According to the court document, Glomar responses are proper “if the fact of the existence or nonexistence of agency records falls within a FOIA exemption.”

The FBI and DEA properly asserted Glomar responses under FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7(C) “because the requests seek criminal investigative documents pertaining to third parties that, if they existed, would interfere with the third parties’ substantial privacy interests in not being associated with law enforcement investigative records”.

On September 6, 2023, SaharaReporters reported that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday struck out several paragraphs in the petition that Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) relied upon to push President Tinubu out of office.

Also, the Tribunal rejected and discounted several exhibits and witness statements the former Vice President tendered to prove his allegations of irregularities and malpractices in the February 25 presidential election.

Delivering a ruling on some objections argued by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) on behalf of Tinubu, Justice Moses Ugoh held that several parts of Atiku's petition lacked legs upon which they could stand and survive and were, hence, not competent.

The court said several facts fundamentally required to support the petition were not provided by Atiku, a position the court also took on the petition filed by his counterpart in the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

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According to PREMIUM TIMES, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia handed down the order on Tuesday, rejecting the government agencies’ attempts to withhold the documents under the so-called "Glomar response" — a policy allowing agencies to refuse to confirm or deny the existence of records.

Amnesty International should go and sit down.

Amnesty should direct their energy to the countries where these herders are coming from.

The government should also stop taking the blame for what is out of their control.

tundegan:
Amnesty should direct their energy to the countries where these herders are coming from.

The government should also stop taking the blame for what is out of their control.

Finally, guy you don't have sense

So, if government are not to be blamed who should take the blame?

I don't know why some of you don't have sense

Why are herdsmen from sahel region not attacking North Africa nations like Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt despite having boundary with them.

Sometimes FG excuse is that the herdsmen is from Mali, Senegal, Niger, Chad. These nations have direct boundary with North African nations but they prefer to strike in black countries (West Africa) especially Nigeria because they know many people among us don't have sense including government officials.

After some of you will be angry that North africa don't like to be reffered as blacks.They know that blacks are not their mate and they have nothing to gain by joining them.

OLAADEGBU:
Amnesty International highlighted the alarming trend, noting that 57% of the recorded deaths occurred in 2018 alone.

Where's the cows? Is Evans a herdsmen?

The herders and farmers are not fighting in Lagos state, why should we be bothered about their issues?

Only the igbos know how to deal their madness that's why they don't find forests in igboland attractive like others parts of nigeria cause they know the usual treatment they get there where igbo boys with ak47 rifles can appear at any time and open fire on them and all their cows.

Bendeco02:
Finally, guy you don't have sense

So, if government are not to be blamed who
Why are herdsmen from sahel region not attacking North Africa nations like Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt despite having boundary with them.

Cause they have strong armies , they control their borders and will reduce armed groups to ashes if they cross to their territory

Tinubu is doing great.

We have seen the commitment to tackling issues head on.

Lets see how this plays out.

That one concern him?

Even if heardsmen attack his village @ Osun he won't still talk.

All they care is how to win election by 2027

Amnesty International Condemns Nigerian Military Over Killing Of Female Protesters In Adamawa
December 9, 2025
NEWS

Amnesty International has called on the Nigerian authorities to launch a transparent and impartial investigation into what it described as the horrific and unlawful use of excessive force by soldiers that led to the killing of at least nine female protesters in Lamorde Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

In a statement on Tuesday, the rights group condemned the military’s decision to fire live ammunition at unarmed demonstrators without warning, noting that such conduct violates both Nigerian and international human rights law.

According to Amnesty International, the injured protesters sustained gunshot wounds to the head, neck, back, chest, shoulder, legs and arms.

It noted that some suffered multiple bullet wounds, indicating indiscriminate shooting.

The organisation also criticised the government for what it described as an increasingly inadequate, slow and ineffective response to the escalating communal violence between the Bachama and Chobo ethnic groups.

The conflict, triggered by disputes over land and the theft of a motorcycle, has spiralled into a cycle of killings, reprisals, and atrocities.

Amnesty International noted that in rare instances when security forces respond to such violence, they often do so with unlawful or disproportionate force.

It cited the December 8, 2025 incident in Lamorde, where security agencies allegedly worsened the situation by using live rounds, leading to more deaths and destruction.

“The continuous failure to investigate such gross human rights violations is fueling a dangerous disdain for the sanctity of human life in Nigeria,” the organisation warned.

SaharaReporters

According to Amnesty International, the injured protesters sustained gunshot wounds to the head, neck, back, chest, shoulder, legs and arms.