A new report by Amnesty International has accused Nigeria’s police, military, the regional security outfit Ebube Agu, and various armed groups of carrying out widespread killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and other human rights abuses in the South-East.
The report, A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in Southeast Nigeria, says at least 1,844 people were killed between January 2021 and June 2023 by both state and non-state actors.
It documents incidents of unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, forced displacement, and destruction of property between January 2021 and December 2024.
Amnesty International’s Nigeria Director, Isa Sanusi, said the crisis stems partly from the government’s “brutal clampdown” on pro-Biafra protests since August 2015, which plunged the region into “an endless cycle of bloodshed” and left communities living in fear.
He called on the authorities to end impunity, bring all perpetrators—regardless of status—to justice, and ensure victims and their families have access to remedies.
The report draws on interviews with 100 people, including survivors, relatives of victims, community leaders, and lawyers, and field visits to Imo, Delta, Anambra, and Enugu states.
It highlights the activities of “unknown gunmen,” who have killed hundreds, extorted communities, and burned homes—often in retaliation for resistance.
In Imo State alone, over 400 people were killed between 2019 and 2021.
Authorities often blame the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), for much of the violence, but both groups deny involvement in the “unknown gunmen” attacks.
Amnesty says IPOB/ESN’s sit-at-home orders have themselves led to rights violations, disrupting schools, markets, and economic life across the South-East.
The report also implicates cult groups, criminal gangs, and Ebube Agu—accusing the latter of harassment, extrajudicial killings, and intimidation of government critics.
It further alleges that military and police operations in the region have involved unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, and destruction of property.
Despite the scale of the violence, Amnesty says justice remains elusive for victims.
The Nigerian government and security agencies have yet to respond to the report’s allegations.