Nigeria

The optimism that followed the relatively peaceful elections that brought in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration gradually gave way to concerns about government intolerance for dissent and heavy-handed violent responses to peaceful protests. Lack of accountability for human rights abuses by government forces and non-state armed groups, including Boko Haram and cattle herdsmen, created an atmosphere of insecurity. Old tensions and agitations for the independent state of Biafra in the southeast and renewed Niger Delta militancy was met with violent military crackdowns, as government promises of security sector reform failed to translate to genuine concrete action.