The recent damning report by the international human rights organisation, Amnesty International (AI), on the killings in the South-East region of Nigeria is troubling. The near-absence of security in the region is also worrisome and unacceptable. In the report, titled, “A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria,” AI catalogued a lot of extra-judicial killings by both state and non-state actors in the region from 2021 to 2024. In one particular incident at Agwa community in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, cultists numbering over 30 reportedly abducted a senior retired police officer and lawyer from his residence in the community. It was on February 2, 2022.
The victim had returned to his village from his base in Owerri to offer pro bono legal service to a woman whose son was killed by cultists in Agwa. He couldn’t return to Owerri that day. So, he felt like passing the night in his village at Mgbala Agwa. But he was still at the entrance to his house when the gunmen abducted him. They took him into the bush, decapitated him and dumped his mutilated body in front of his compound. Most of the culprits are said to be well known people from Mgbala Agwa and other communities in Agwa clan.
The traditional ruler of Obudi Agwa autonomous community and two of his chiefs met their deaths at the hands of these same gunmen on November 14, 2022 at the palace of the traditional ruler. Some traditional rulers who were lucky to escape alive had their palaces destroyed. A typical example is the traditional ruler of Lilu in Ihiala LGA of Anambra State. These gunmen sacked the royal father from his palace, burnt it down, displaced many residents and took total control of the community.
In the summary of its findings, AI noted that between January 2021 and June 2023, over 1,844 people were killed in the South-East. Also, there were cases of abductions, mob violence and electoral violence. In Imo State, gunmen reportedly operate from camps located in forests in Okigwe, Mbaitolu, Arondizuogu, Ihiteukwa, Ihitenansa, Agwa, Izombe, among many other communities.
In Anambra, they operate from camps located in forests in such communities as Lilu, Ukpor, Ezinifite Nnewi, Unubi, Umunze, Isseke, Mbosi, among others. In Enugu, they operate from camps located at Nkwere Inyi Forest in Oji River. In Ebonyi, they operate from camps located in forests at Mgbalukwu and Inyimagu Izzi.
According to the Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, the brutal clampdown on pro-Biafra protests by Nigerian authorities from August 2015 was what plunged the South-East Region into an endless cycle of bloodshed. The Nigerian military operations in the South-East include ‘Operation Python Dance’ or ‘Operation Egwu Eke’, conducted between November and December 2016; ‘Operation Python Dance II’, conducted in September 2017; and ‘Operation Udo Ka’ (October 2023).
During these operations, the Nigerian military allegedly engaged in arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and destruction of homes. All these, Sanusi said, created a climate of fear and left many communities vulnerable. It has also scared many people away from the South-East.
The Federal Government should urgently investigate the widespread killings and other grave human rights violations in the region. Apart from probing the atrocities committed by state and non-state actors, the government should address the growing insecurity in that part of the country.
The Sout-East economy is gradually collapsing and needs to be revamped. The sit-at-home holidays being observed every Monday reportedly cost micro-businesses in the region over N5 trillion in losses between September 2021 and December 2022 alone.
We condemn the politicization of the conflict by political actors and the attitude of South-East governors to the security challenge. They should act with one voice and show more commitment in fighting the menace. Granted that some of them have formed vigilance groups to help in fighting the crime, there is lack of synergy among the groups. Some of them worsen the situation by their unruly conduct. The Ebube Agu paramilitary force, which the governors established in April 2021, is a typical example.
The group has been accused of committing human rights violations, including arrests and detention, torture, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and destruction of homes. Some suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were summarily arrested, detained and killed by the state actors.
Those behind the insecurity in the region should have a rethink and stop the bloodletting, carnage and anarchy. Government should fashion a way to compensate innocent victims who lost their loved ones and property.
The South-East governors should study what their South-West counterparts did to ensure that Operation Amotekun is working well. They should work together to stem the growing menace.
Other political elite, including community and traditional leaders, should cooperate with the governors in the efforts to tackle this problem. The Federal Government should also lend genuine support to all the efforts to ensure security not just in the South-East but also in all the zones of Nigeria.
