The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, to invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter and formally bring Nigeria’s escalating insecurity before the UN Security Council.
In an open letter dated May 30, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP argued that the scale of abductions, killings, attacks on civilians and mass displacement across several parts of Nigeria now poses a threat to international peace and security.
The organisation cited recurring violence in Oyo, Benue, Borno, Plateau, Kaduna, Zamfara and other states, warning that the persistent attacks by armed groups and criminal networks have created widespread human suffering, destruction and collective trauma.
According to SERAP, Article 99 empowers the UN Secretary-General to draw the Security Council’s attention to situations that may threaten global peace and security, stressing that Nigeria’s security crisis has outgrown the limits of a domestic law-enforcement challenge.
“The crisis in Nigeria is not merely a domestic law-enforcement issue. Its effects increasingly implicate regional peace and security through cross-border movement of armed groups and weapons, large-scale displacement, growing instability beyond Nigeria’s borders, and weakening human rights and rule-of-law institutions,” the group stated.
SERAP pointed to the recent abduction of pupils and teachers from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where at least 25 pupils and seven teachers were reportedly kidnapped, while two education workers lost their lives during and after the attack.
The rights group also referenced reports of students travelling to sit university entrance examinations being abducted in Benue State, as well as deadly attacks in Borno, Katsina and Adamawa states that left scores of civilians dead and many others displaced.
It noted that recent bomb explosions in Maiduguri reportedly killed at least 23 persons and injured more than 100, while attacks on military formations, internally displaced persons’ camps and rural communities have continued unabated.
SERAP recalled that the UN and its agencies have repeatedly expressed concern over Nigeria’s worsening security situation. It cited Guterres’ condemnation of killings in Benue State in 2025, his reaction to a terrorist attack in Kwara State earlier this year, and warnings by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights over rising cases of mass abductions.
The organisation argued that the humanitarian and regional implications of the crisis warrant urgent international attention, noting that insecurity has displaced millions, disrupted livelihoods and worsened food insecurity across affected communities.
SERAP urged the UN chief to place Nigeria’s security situation on the Security Council’s agenda, encourage regular briefings on insecurity and its humanitarian consequences, and support stronger international monitoring of attacks, displacement and human rights violations.
The Atlantic Bell reports that the organisation also called on Nigerian authorities to intensify efforts to protect civilians, secure the release of abducted persons, investigate attacks independently and effectively, and ensure accountability for perpetrators and their sponsors.
According to SERAP, sustained international scrutiny and coordinated action are necessary to prevent further deterioration of the security situation and safeguard peace and stability in Nigeria and the wider West African region.
