Amnesty Alleges 150 Fulani Died After Months in Military-Controlled Camp in Kwara

Amnesty International said Thursday that at least 150 members of Nigeria’s Fulani community, most of them children, died after being arbitrarily detained for months by the military at a camp in north-central Kwara state, and called for an independent investigation into the alleged deaths. The rights group’s account, published in a news release dated April 30, is an allegation based on its own field research and witness testimony; as of the reporting cutoff, there was no public response or independent official confirmation from Nigerian authorities.

Amnesty said about 1,500 Fulani pastoralists were held for roughly three months at the National Youth Service Corps, or NYSC, orientation camp in Yikpata, in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara state. It said the detainees had been brought there after attacks by gunmen and military operations that began in January. As of 00:03 UTC on April 30, the research found no public statement from the Kwara state government, the Nigerian Army or Defence Headquarters, the NYSC, or the federal government confirming or rebutting Amnesty’s specific allegations.

The organization said its researchers visited the Yikpata camp and other locations in Kwara between April 5 and April 11. Amnesty said it engaged with 60 affected people and interviewed 30 family members, detainees and survivors. It also said it documented photographic evidence of severe child malnutrition in the camp.

According to Amnesty, people from affected areas in Asa, Edu, Ifelodun and Pategi local government areas were rounded up or moved to the camp after being displaced. It alleged they were held in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, with restrictions on movement, too little food, and inadequate access to health care. Amnesty said disease and acute malnutrition spread in the camp and that at least 100 pregnant women there were at risk because of inadequate maternal care.

“A total of 154 people have died from hunger and disease since we were brought and detained there. On the day I escaped, six children died,” an unnamed 43-year-old man told Amnesty, according to the group’s statement.

Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria’s director, said the case showed displaced Fulani families facing danger both from armed attacks and from the state response that followed. “Members of the Fulani community face persecution on two fronts – from armed groups and the military. Instead of receiving protection, they are being denied their rights to personal liberty, livelihood, movement, education and healthcare. We met people who described losing parents, siblings, spouses, children and grandchildren at the camp. Such tragedies only add to their suffering,” he said.

Kwara state saw deadly attacks and large-scale displacement in February 2026, according to U.N. and nongovernmental organization reporting cited in the background material, helping explain why displaced Fulani families were present in and around Yikpata. The Yikpata NYSC camp had also already been discussed in local reporting earlier this year as a site hosting displaced people, making Amnesty’s identification of the facility consistent with earlier public reporting about its use.

The allegation is especially serious because the reported deaths are said to have happened while detainees were in state custody or at a military-controlled site. Amnesty said Nigerian authorities must carry out a “prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigation.”

As of the reporting cutoff, however, Amnesty’s reported death toll had not been independently confirmed by Nigerian authorities, and no public official response addressing the organization’s specific claims had been identified.