Abuja: Nigerian Army soldiers shot and killed nine women protesting the military's management of communal clashes in northeastern Adamawa state's Lamurde area on Monday, witnesses and Amnesty International reported to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The protesters blocked a major road when soldiers opened fire after being impeded, leaving ten others wounded, according to witnesses and victims' relatives.

The Nigerian Army denied responsibility in a statement, attributing the deaths to a local militia firing in the vicinity and claiming its troops engaged militants elsewhere with "unprofessional handling of automatic weapons."

Amnesty International Nigeria confirmed the soldiers killed the nine protesters based on witness and family accounts, with director Isa Sanusi stating, “It shows that Nigerian military has not changed much because of its past record of human rights violations and disregard for rule of law.”

The incident unfolded amid a curfew imposed due to ongoing Bachama-Chobo ethnic clashes over land, with women protesting lax enforcement allowing violence to persist, per local councillor Lawson Ignatius.

Gyele Kennedy, whose daughter was among those killed, recounted: “These soldiers were leaving where the conflict happened, and they came to pass through this place. They came and met the women protesting when one of the soldiers shot his gun in the air. After that, they opened fire on the women.”

Such lethal responses to protests remain prevalent in Nigeria, echoing the 2020 Lagos police brutality demonstrations labelled a massacre by a government inquiry.

Amnesty urged investigation and accountability, as the military faces US President Donald Trump's criticism over alleged inadequate protection amid widespread violence affecting both Christians and Muslims.

AP