UN Envoy Raises the Alarm over Insecurity in Nigeria

Nigeria is facing a worsening security crisis, with a United Nations Special Rapporteur raising alarm over the pervasive violence, mass displacement, and the absence of justice for victims. Nazila Ghanea, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, concluded an 11-day visit to Nigeria, presenting preliminary observations that painted a grim picture of communities trapped in endless cycles of conflict.

Ghanea described communities whose villages are razed, livelihoods destroyed, and survivors repeatedly displaced with little hope of return. While her mission focused on religious freedom, engagements across the country were dominated by stories of insecurity, killings, and fears over the authorities' inability to protect citizens. The violence, she noted, has evolved from isolated incidents into a widespread national emergency affecting numerous regions.

Communities recounted horrifying experiences, including mass arson attacks that forced survivors into internally displaced persons' camps. In some rural areas, bandits have allegedly compelled residents into "peace agreements" that involve surrendering farmlands and produce, with women reportedly taken at will. Ghanea observed that impunity and a lack of accountability appear to entrench the violence, allowing perpetrators to escape justice. "When everything in one’s world has been reduced to dust... and when one has seen no action or inadequate prevention and justice from the authorities, why would one think otherwise?" she questioned.

The Special Rapporteur also highlighted the increasing frequency of attacks on schools and the abduction of children, labeling them grave violations of children's rights. Hostage-taking has become pervasive, with high-profile individuals and their families kidnapped and sometimes killed despite ransom payments. The scale of the violence and the state's apparent inability to contain it have fueled suspicions of official complicity in some quarters, further eroding public trust in government institutions.

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When everything in one’s world has been reduced to dust, when religious leaders have been killed and places of worship destroyed and when one has seen no action or inadequate prevention and justice from the authorities, why would one think otherwise?