Nigerians Knock Presidency Over Claim Of 81% Drop In Terror-Related Deaths
The Presidency has come under fire from Nigerians online following its claim that terror-related deaths in the country have dropped by 81 per cent since 2015.
Many Nigerians who reacted to the statement described it as a joke taken too far.
The backlash trailed a post on the government’s official X (Twitter) handle on Sunday, with citizens questioning the data and accusing authorities of being detached from the grim reality of daily killings, kidnappings and armed attacks.
One user, @BayoAdemola, wrote: “People can’t travel from Abuja to Kaduna without fear. Which country recorded an 81% drop? Because it’s not Nigeria.”
Another, @Iam_MaryOkon, said: “Farmers are being slaughtered, schoolchildren kidnapped, and villages burned. Stop mocking our pain with statistics.”
User @DejiSpeaks added, “The only thing that dropped is government accountability. This regime measures peace by press releases, not by facts on the ground.”
Similarly, @NaijaObserver commented, “When over 200 people are kidnapped in a single week, claiming security has improved is an insult to victims.”
For @OlaOfIbadan, the government’s statement “shows how disconnected the Presidency is from the streets,” urging authorities to “fix insecurity, not manipulate figures.”
In the statement that drew the outrage, the Presidency claimed that Nigeria has recorded major gains in its counter-insurgency campaign, citing over 13,000 terrorists neutralised and 124,000 fighters and family members who surrendered to the military in the past year.
It also said about 2.1 million internally displaced persons have returned home, while 124 terror suspects have been convicted since 2024; though many Nigerians insist the figures do not reflect the escalating wave of kidnappings and killings nationwide.
Kazeem Badmus is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience. A professional in journalism and media writing, Kazeem prioritses accuracy and factual reportage of issues. He is also a dexterous finder of the truth with conscious delivery of unbiased and development oriented stories.
