AMNESTY International has raised alarm over worsening insecurity in Nigeria’s Southeast region, revealing that more than 1,844 people were killed between January 2021 and June 2023.
The organisation’s new report shows that the region’s violence has become a hybrid of political and criminal attacks, involving multiple actors such as IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), so-called “unknown gunmen,” cult groups, and state-backed forces like Ebube Agu.
Amnesty noted that the complexity of actors has often been reduced to a single narrative of secessionist agitation, even though various groups are involved.
The findings highlight that the so-called “unknown gunmen” are not faceless but known individuals within their communities, operating from forest camps across Imo, Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi states. Clashes between farmers and herders have also claimed lives, while cult-related killings linked to drug networks remain rife in Anambra towns such as Onitsha and Awka.
Security forces and state-backed militias were also accused of serious violations. The report cited arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial executions, and destruction of property during operations such as “Python Dance” and “Operation Udo Ka,” as well as airstrikes in Imo and Anambra communities.
Amnesty further alleged that authorities have targeted suspected IPOB supporters with unlawful killings, abductions, secret detentions, and unfair trials.
Communities such as Agwa and Izombe in Imo have been described as “ungoverned spaces” where gunmen hold sway, while the enforcement of IPOB’s sit-at-home order has denied residents their rights to life, education, and freedom of movement.
Amnesty International urged the Nigerian government to conduct independent and transparent investigations into abuses by both state and non-state actors, prosecute those responsible, and provide justice and compensation for victims.
The group also called on authorities to notify families of the whereabouts of persons arrested or disappeared, criminalise enforced disappearance under domestic law, and provide humanitarian support to displaced communities.
The organisation stressed that urgent action is needed to ensure accountability, protect civilians, and prevent the South-East from descending further into lawlessness and human rights abuses.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.