The amnesty international report on the South-East has indicted the police, army, the regional security outfit, Ebube Agu and non-state actors for massive killings, forced disappearances and various violations of human rights in the region.
According to the report, over 1,844 people were killed by both state and non-state actors between January 2021 and June 2023 alone.
Amnesty International urged the government to act fast and stop the killings in the region.
The report, ‘A Decade of Impunity: Attack and Unlawful Killings in Southeast Nigeria’, documented unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and displacement at the hands of rampaging gunmen, state-backed paramilitary outfits, vigilantes, criminal gangs and cults in the South-East region between January 2021 and December 2024.
“The Nigerian authorities’ brutal clampdown on pro-Biafra protests from August 2015 plunged the South-East region into an endless cycle of bloodshed, which has created a climate of fear and left many communities vulnerable. Assassinations of prominent personalities and attacks on highways, security personnel, and facilities are chilling reminders of the region’s insecurity,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
“The government must stop turning a blind eye to the unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and destruction of properties in the South-East region.
“Authorities must live up to their constitutional and international human rights obligations, including by ensuring all suspected perpetrators are brought to justice in fair trial, no matter who they are, and that victims and their families have access to justice and effective remedies.”
The government, police and army have yet to react to the allegations as of the time of filing the report.
Thousands of people have been killed; hundreds forcibly disappeared in two years in South-East region 1,844 people killed between January 2021 and June 2023
Gunmen killed over 400 people in Imo state between 2019 and 2021, Hundreds of people arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared
The Nigerian authorities’ persistent failure to address the security crisis in the country’s South-East region has created a free-for-all reign of impunity in which numerous state and non-state actors have committed serious human rights violations and killed at least 1,844 people between January 2021 and June 2023, Amnesty International said today.
“The Nigerian authorities’ brutal clampdown on pro-Biafra protests from August 2015 plunged the South-East region into an endless cycle of bloodshed, which has created a climate of fear and left many communities vulnerable. Assassinations of prominent personalities and attacks on highways, security personnel and facilities are chilling reminders of the region’s insecurity,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
“The government must stop turning a blind eye to the unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and destruction of properties in the South-East region. Authorities must live up to their constitutional and international human rights obligations including by ensuring all suspected perpetrators are brought to justice in fair trial, no matter who they are, and that victims and their families have access to justice and effective remedies.”
The report is based on interviews with 100 people, including survivors, victims’ relatives, civil society members, lawyers, traditional leaders, and religious leaders. Amnesty International also conducted research missions to Owerri in Imo state, Asaba in Delta state, Obosi in Anambra state, and Enugu in Enugu state between April 2023 to November 2023.
Gunmen killed over 400 people in Imo state between January 2019 and December 2021, often emerging from their camps unmasked to carry out attacks on residents, police stations, and vigilante offices. The raids have triggered reprisal attacks resulting in death and injury for thousands of residents.
Victims described how the gunmen appear, routinely demanding money from communities during burial ceremonies and weddings. Anyone who resists risks being subjected to violent attack during the night, and their house set on fire.
Ebulie, who survived an attack by gunmen in Ihiala told Amnesty International: “The “unknown gunmen” are armed – some come with guns, cutlasses, and machetes. If they come for an attack, anyone that blocks their way, they will kill them. It has been a terrible situation, people are scared…”
Nigerian authorities continue to blame the pro-Biafran organization IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) and its militant arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) for most of the deadly attacks in the region. IPOB/ESN deny involvement in the activities of the “unknown gunmen” and their camps.
However, the enforcement of a sit-at-home order by IPOB/ESN, across the South-East region, issued on 9 August 2021, has led to human rights violations with people beaten or even killed for defying the order. Schools have been shut, exams disrupted, forcing children to stay away from schools. Markets have been closed with harsh economic consequences for communities across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
