International Human Rights Organisation, Amnesty International has revealed that twenty days into February, at least 323 people have been killed in different attacks on rural communities in: Benue, Katsina, Kwara, Kebbi, Niger and Zamfara states.

In an update posted on its facebook page, the organisation noted that the “rising death toll clearly shows that President Bola Tinubu and his government have no effective plan for ending years of atrocities by armed groups and gunmen that have killed thousands of people.

According to the organisation, “incessant killings and the shocking failure of the authorities to end them and bring suspected perpetrators to justice have been and continues to be a threat to the right to life in Nigeria.

“Since 2020, Amnesty International has been documenting a horrifying pattern in which, attackers invade villages on motorcycles and heavily armed. They shoot sporadically at people, abduct women and girls, set houses on fire, steal livestock, destroy farm produce and abduct villagers for ransom.

“In recent cases, villagers received ‘warning letters’ from armed groups — ahead of attacks. Such attacks take hours. One of recent attacks on some villages in Niger state started from 3:00am to 10:00am.

“Most villagers told Amnesty International that the government left them at the mercy of their attackers.

“The government has an obligation to protect its population. The rising death toll in the north of Nigeria shows just how badly the authorities are failing in this responsibility.