May 31 (THEWILL) — The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, “to urgently invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter and bring Nigeria’s escalating insecurity—marked by mass abductions, killings, attacks on civilians, mass displacement, and other grave human rights violations—to the attention of the UN Security Council.”
The advocacy group said the deteriorating security situation across Nigeria has reached a level that threatens international peace and security, warning that continued attacks on civilians, large-scale displacement and growing instability could further destabilise the West African sub-region if urgent action is not taken.
In an open letter dated May 30, 2026, signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation argued that the scale, persistence and regional implications of insecurity in Nigeria now warrant the direct intervention of the United Nations Security Council through the powers vested in the Secretary-General under Article 99 of the UN Charter.
SERAP stated that Nigeria’s escalating insecurity and grave human rights violations are reflected in repeated abductions, killings, attacks on civilians and mass displacement in states including Oyo State, Benue State, Borno State, Plateau State, Kaduna State and Zamfara State.
According to the organisation, Article 99 was specifically designed for situations where emerging or ongoing crises require urgent preventive diplomacy, sustained international scrutiny and coordinated international action.
“The scale, persistence, and regional implications of the insecurity and grave human rights crisis in Nigeria pose a threat to international peace and security and risk aggravating existing threats in the region”, the letter stated.
SERAP argued that years of violence and armed conflicts across several parts of the country have created immense human suffering, widespread destruction of communities and deep psychological trauma for millions of Nigerians.
The organisation maintained that formally placing Nigeria’s worsening insecurity on the agenda of the Security Council would strengthen the credibility of the United Nations system and ensure sustained international attention to attacks on civilians, including abductions, killings and displacement.
It stressed that the crisis has evolved beyond a domestic law-enforcement challenge, noting that cross-border movements of armed groups and weapons, large-scale displacement, weakening rule-of-law institutions and deteriorating human rights conditions have transformed it into a regional security concern.
“There is no effective protection of people and communities, with frequent reports of a pattern of large-scale violence across multiple states”, SERAP said.
The organisation described Nigeria as facing a grave and worsening security emergency characterised by repeated mass abductions of schoolchildren, teachers, women, commuters and rural residents, alongside attacks on villages and farming communities, killings by armed groups and criminal networks, and widespread displacement.
To illustrate the severity of the situation, SERAP cited the recent abduction of pupils and teachers in Ahoro Esinele community in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
According to the organisation, armed men attacked Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School on or about May 15, 2026, abducting at least 25 pupils and seven teachers during coordinated raids.
The group said an assistant headmaster was reportedly killed during the attack, while another teacher subsequently died in captivity.
SERAP further recalled that distressing videos later surfaced showing one of the abducted teachers, identified as the vice principal of Community Grammar School, appealing publicly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Seyi Makinde and Nigerians to secure the release of the victims.
According to the organisation, the abductees were reportedly being held under harsh conditions and exposed to extreme weather while their captors demanded intervention.
SERAP said the incident demonstrated the devastating human consequences of recurring attacks on schools, children and education workers, while underscoring the urgent need for stronger protection measures and accountability.
The organisation also referenced reports indicating that gunmen recently abducted secondary school students and other travellers in Benue State while they were travelling to sit university entrance examinations.
It further highlighted escalating attacks by non-state armed groups across the North-East, North-West and North-Central regions.
Among the incidents cited were recent bomb explosions in Maiduguri, Borno State, which reportedly killed at least 23 people and injured more than 100 others.
The organisation said these attacks have been accompanied by repeated assaults on military formations, attacks on internally displaced persons’ camps, abductions of women and children, and killings of civilians in rural communities.
SERAP also pointed to recent attacks in Katsina State, where gunmen reportedly killed at least 10 people, including women and children. Separate coordinated raids allegedly left at least 20 others dead and resulted in the abduction of residents.
In Adamawa State, another attack reportedly claimed the lives of at least 29 people.
“Taken together, these incidents reflect an intensifying security crisis characterised by mass killings, abductions and sustained attacks on rural communities”, the organisation said.
SERAP warned that the situation is rapidly deteriorating into a humanitarian and security emergency with potentially far-reaching consequences for Nigeria and the wider West African region.
The organisation noted that concerns over the worsening insecurity are not limited to local observers, recalling several interventions and warnings issued by senior United Nations officials.
It stated that Guterres condemned the killing of people in Benue State in June 2025 and called for those responsible to be identified and prosecuted.
The group also recalled that in February 2026, the UN Secretary-General condemned a terrorist attack in Kwara State, reaffirmed the solidarity of the United Nations with Nigeria and stressed the need to bring perpetrators to justice.
SERAP further cited a November 2025 statement by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing shock over the rise in mass abductions in Nigeria and urging authorities at all levels to take lawful measures to halt such attacks, ensure accountability and secure the release of victims.
The organisation added that the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria has repeatedly warned that violence across several regions has displaced millions of people, disrupted livelihoods and deepened one of the country’s most severe humanitarian crises in recent years.
According to SERAP, UN agencies have also raised concerns that persistent attacks and instability are worsening food insecurity and placing additional pressure on vulnerable communities both within Nigeria and across neighbouring countries.
“These repeated warnings confirm that the crisis is not merely a domestic concern, but one with serious human rights, humanitarian, and regional peace and security implications”, the letter read.
SERAP noted that Guterres’ recent invocation of Article 99 in relation to the Gaza conflict reaffirmed the importance of the Secretary-General’s preventive role in situations involving large-scale human suffering, humanitarian emergencies and risks of regional destabilisation.
The organisation argued that international human rights law imposes obligations on governments not only to refrain from directly violating rights but also to exercise due diligence in preventing, investigating, punishing, and remedying abuses committed by non-state actors.
It said the recurring pattern of abductions, attacks, enforced disappearances, killings and violence across Nigeria demonstrates that the threats facing civilians are well known, repeatedly documented and entirely foreseeable.
“Where such threats persist without adequate preventive protection, effective investigation, or accountability, serious concerns arise under international human rights law, including the UN Charter”, SERAP noted.
The organisation maintained that the continuing insecurity has resulted in devastating loss of life, destruction of communities and widespread fear affecting millions of Nigerians, adding that the persistence of the attacks and their implications for regional stability require urgent international attention.
Consequently, SERAP urged Guterres to exercise his authority under Article 99 immediately, facilitate regular and public Security Council briefings on insecurity and humanitarian conditions in Nigeria, request systematic reporting by relevant UN bodies on attacks and displacement, and call on Nigerian authorities to take urgent measures to protect civilians and secure the release of abducted persons.
The organisation also demanded prompt, independent and effective investigations into all reported incidents, accountability for perpetrators and their enablers, stronger civilian protection measures, remedies and reparations for victims, and increased international pressure aimed at preventing further escalation of violence across the country.
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