The Defence Headquarters, in a strong rebuttal, has berated Amnesty International over its recent negative report about the security situation in Nigeria.

Amnesty International had in a report on Wednesday, said the Federal Government had failed in its duty to protect the citizens from armed group but the DHQ dismisses as lacking contextual depth .

While AI  lamented in its report that 10,217 people have been killed and 672 villages sacked within the past two years in Nigeria, the  Nigerian military authorities say the human rights organisation failed to recognise the Nigerian Armed Forces’ achievements  in tackling insecurity.

The DHQ, in a statement on Friday by its Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, said, “While we acknowledge the importance of civil society in promoting accountability and human rights, we must express strong reservations about the sweeping generalisations, lack of contextual depth, and the failure of the statement to recognise the monumental strides made by the Armed Forces of Nigeria under the current administration.”
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While we acknowledge the importance of civil society in promoting accountability and human rights, we must express strong reservations about the sweeping generalisations, lack of contextual depth, and the failure of the statement to recognise the monumental strides made by the Armed Forces of Nigeria under the current administration.”The statement noted that since  2023, the Nigerian military had achieved significant success  which included  the neutralisation of over 5,000 insurgents and bandits, the recovery of more than 350 communities previously under terrorist control, and the rescue of over 1,200 kidnapped civilians.

It said, “The sustained presence of troops in areas such as Maru (Zamfara), Bokkos (Plateau), and Logo (Benue) has enabled displaced persons to begin returning home under military protection.
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“Rescue Operations and Hostage Recovery. In partnership with local intelligence networks, the military successfully rescued over 1,200 abducted civilians, including women and children, many of whom were kidnapped in mass abduction incidents.

“Several notorious kidnapping syndicates have been dismantled, and recovery of illegal weapons caches continues weekly,” he added.

The DHQ further said, it was not true that 2,630 people were killed and 167 communities displaced in Plateau State in the last two years, as claimed by AI.

“The state witnessed improvements in security following a reorganisation of deployments and intensified operations since July 2023. There were no mass displacements between 2023 and 2025, contrary to Amnesty’s assertion,” the statement said.

Adding, the statement said,  “In Zamfara alone, the military reported over 2,000 offensive operations in two years, leading to the rescue of 687 abductees, the neutralisation of over 1,500 terrorists, and the destruction of bandit enclaves.

“Contrary to claims, areas such as Bafarawa and Gebe in Sokoto are within reach of military Forward Operating Bases, and joint operations have cleared bandit strongholds,” the statement added.

The statement also said it was not true that 6,896 people were killed in Benue State. It said, “Our records show 693 deaths in Benue during the review period, not 6,896. Furthermore, most of the alleged displacement figures are inconsistent with ground realities. Many IDP camps are now largely empty.”