Nine women were shot dead by Nigerian Army soldiers during a protest over security failures in Adamawa state, witnesses and Amnesty International told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The women had gathered on Monday along a major road in Lamurde, demonstrating against what they said was the army’s inadequate response to ongoing communal clashes. Witnesses and relatives said soldiers opened fire after the protest blocked their movement. Ten others were reportedly injured.
The Nigerian Army denied the allegations, saying no soldiers fired at civilians. Instead, it blamed the deaths on a local militia it claimed had discharged weapons in the area.
Amnesty International rejected the army’s statement, saying its investigation confirmed that soldiers were responsible for the killings. “It shows that the Nigerian military has not changed much because of its past record of human rights violations and disregard for the rule of law,” said Isa Sanusi, the group’s Nigeria director.
The AP could not independently verify the incident. Similar allegations of excessive force by security forces are widespread across Nigeria. In 2020, protests against police brutality in Lagos ended in what a government inquiry later described as a massacre after soldiers fired on demonstrators.
Monday’s shooting happened under a curfew imposed in Lamurde following escalating clashes between the Bachama and Chobo ethnic groups over a long-running land dispute. Councillor Lawson Ignatius said the protesters were frustrated that security forces were not enforcing the curfew, allowing violence to continue.
Gyele Kennedy, whose daughter was killed, said the soldiers fired after one of them shot into the air. “They came and met the women protesting … after that, they opened fire on the women,” he said.
The army insists its troops were engaged with a militia elsewhere in town, claiming the deaths resulted from the group’s “unprofessional handling” of weapons.
The reported incident comes as Nigeria’s security forces face heightened international scrutiny, including from U.S. President Donald Trump, who alleges Christians are being targeted in the country’s violence though residents say both Christians and Muslims are affected.
Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation and accountability for those responsible.
