A civil society group, Global Rights, has reported that 848 extrajudicial executions have occurred in Nigeria during the last three years.
According to the group’s recent ‘Mass Atrocities Casualties’ tracking report, the execution took place in the country between 2020 and June 2023.
It went on to say that 127 cases were documented between January and June 2023.
“We seem to be running roundabout the same figures every year, with the exception of 2020 and 2022. But when you think about 127 people killed in the first half of 2023, and you think about the number of officers who have been sanctioned for these killings, then you know we’re still very way off from the way things need to be dealt with,” stated Global Rights executive director Abiodun Baiyewu in the report.
Executions were carried out in cases involving terrorist attacks, cult killings, communal confrontations, and extrajudicial killings.
“So, what you’re seeing is the extraction of the number of people who have died through extrajudicial killings. And those were the least numbers, numbers we were able to verify,” Mr Baiyewu stressed.
According to Mr Baiyewu, Global Rights has been monitoring mass atrocities in Nigeria since 2018. According to the rights group, 271 and 253 persons were killed in 2020 and 2022, respectively.
Several Nigerians commemorated the third anniversary of the Lekki Tollgate massacre on Friday.
Despite the authorities’ denials, scores of young Nigerian protestors were shot and murdered by law enforcement personnel on October 20, 2020, in the midst of Africa’s most populous nation’s #EndSARS rallies. Protests were held across the country to condemn police violence, particularly at the hands of the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
According to Global Rights, 123 individuals were killed.
