The offices of United Nations Special Rapporteurs have formally contacted the Government of Nigeria over allegations of grave human rights violations in the Middle Belt region.
The States of Nigeria commonly referred to as belonging to the Middle Belt are Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
A statement on Thursday by the International Bar Association, IBA, said the UN investigators’ correspondence marks “a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the ongoing violence.”
The communication issued by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary/arbitrary executions focused on the right to life, food, housing, and security, among others.
It followed the 2025 Joint Urgent Appeal submitted to the UN by eyeWitnesses to Atrocities, founded by the International Bar Association and the International Committee of Nigeria, ICON.
According to the IBA, the Special Rapporteurs requested detailed information from the Nigerian government on measures taken at both the federal and state levels regarding several critical issues.
These include probe and prosecution of perpetrators of killings and other abuses; accountability for attacks executed by non-state actors; and allegations that security forces didn’t adequately protect civilians.
Others are: causes of the violence; its impact on women, children, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups; protection, rehabilitation, and support for affected areas and internally displaced persons.
The UN experts also demanded information about the wanton and widespread destruction of homes, livelihoods, and civilian infrastructure linked to the onslaughts across the crisis-prone zone.
Director of eyeWitness, Carrie Bowker, noted that the decision by multiple UN Special Rapporteurs to engage the Nigerian government demonstrates the gravity of the allegations emerging from the Middle Belt.
Bowker said evidence captured by ICON and local record-keepers depicts the years of violence, displacement, and loss endured by citizens, adding that “meaningful investigations and accountability are now essential.”
“Behind every piece of footage is a family, a destroyed home, or a life lost,” IBA President Claudio Visco remarked. “Survivors and affected communities deserve protection, justice, and sustained international attention.”
Visco added that the communication from the experts appointed by the United Nations sends a clear message that the serious human rights violations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt cannot remain invisible.
ICON captured 3,276 video clips between January 2022 and March 2025. The evidence—comprising witness interviews, documenters’ notes, and open-source research—was presented to the UN in October 2025.
