Adamawa State, Northeast Nigeria – A tragic incident unfolded in the northeastern state of Adamawa, where Nigerian Army soldiers reportedly opened fire on a group of female protesters, resulting in the deaths of nine women and leaving ten others injured.
Summary of Events:
- Location: Lamurde Local Government Area, Adamawa State.
- Victims: Nine women killed, ten injured.
- Date of Incident: Monday, December 8, 2025.
- Context: The women were protesting along a major road over the army’s alleged poor handling of existing communal clashes between the Bachama and Chobo ethnic groups in the area. Witnesses stated the soldiers shot at the protesters after being blocked from passing.
Conflicting Accounts:
- Witnesses/Amnesty International: Multiple witnesses, relatives of the victims, and a subsequent statement from Amnesty International’s Nigeria office confirmed that the soldiers killed the nine protesters. Amnesty called for an investigation and accountability, noting the military’s history of human rights violations.
- Nigerian Army: The Nigerian Army released a statement denying any killings by its troops. The Army instead blamed a “local militia” in the area, stating the casualties were caused by the unprofessional handling of automatic weapons by the untrained militia.
- Broader Context:
- This incident occurs amid a curfew imposed in Lamurde due to frequent communal clashes and is the latest in a series of reported excessive use of force by Nigerian security forces when responding to protests or civil unrest, drawing international scrutiny to the country’s human rights record.
