REPORT: Over 1,800 killed in Nigeria’s South East amid decade of impunity
More than 1,800 people, including a traditional ruler, have been killed in Nigeria’s South East region in just over two years, according to new data released by Amnesty International.
The global rights organisation said at least 1,844 people were killed between January 2021 and June 2023 in attacks carried out by so-called unknown gunmen, local militias and state-backed security forces.
The findings, based on victim interviews, police records and media reports, covered Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states. Amnesty said the killings reflect what it described as a decade of impunity in the region.
One of the most shocking incidents occurred on 14 November 2022, when armed men stormed the palace of traditional ruler HRH Eze Ignatius Asor in Obudu Agwa community of Imo State.
Witnesses said about 30 gunmen arrived in a convoy of Sienna buses, opened fire in the palace courtyard and executed the monarch and two visiting chiefs in cold blood. No arrests have been made since.
Amnesty traced the violence to 2019 when armed factions began enforcing sit-at-home orders linked to the banned Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. Although IPOB denies killing civilians, the organisation said splinter groups now operate independently, targeting police stations, markets and public officials.
Imo State recorded the highest number of deaths, exceeding 400 between 2019 and 2021, followed by Anambra and Ebonyi. Amnesty noted more than 100 additional deaths since December 2022, mostly from midnight raids, assassinations and reprisal attacks.
The report described the attackers’ methods as calculated and terroristic, noting that traditional institutions have been decimated as gunmen loot livestock, burn homes and extort residents.
Amnesty also accused the Ebube Agu security network, created by South East governors in 2021, of arbitrary arrests, torture and summary executions. The lack of accountability, it said, has emboldened perpetrators. Communities now live between the terror of the gunmen and the fear of those meant to protect them.
The Defence Headquarters denied the allegations, insisting that military operations are lawful and intelligence-driven. However, local groups and media continue to document reports of extrajudicial killings and property destruction.
Amnesty’s report, titled A Decade of Impunity, urged the Nigerian government to establish an independent judicial panel to investigate killings, disappearances and torture cases, warning that security must not come at the cost of human rights.
