By Peter Omopo
September 4, 2025
Amnesty International has urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to halt recurring killings and human rights violations in the South-East region.
The call was made on Thursday by the organisation’s Country Director in Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, during the relaunch of its report, “A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria”, held in Ikeja, Lagos.
The report, first released in August, revealed that at least 1,844 people were killed between January 2021 and June 2023 in the region. Amnesty accused both state and non-state actors of committing grave abuses, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, and property destruction.
Sanusi criticised the silence of South-East governors and security agencies to Amnesty’s enquiries, describing it as proof of the government’s lack of commitment to ending the violence.
“That means to us that the government is not taking the matter seriously, because if they were, there is no way they would ignore any communication about it,” Sanusi said.
He added that despite repeated letters to the Nigerian Army, Police, and other security agencies, Amnesty received no response.
The report attributed the violence to a combination of armed groups, vigilantes, criminal gangs, cult groups, as well as state-backed paramilitary forces and security operatives. It also linked the crisis to the government’s clampdown on pro-Biafra protests since 2015.
Sanusi urged the authorities to launch independent, transparent investigations into the killings and to guarantee the safety and rights of residents.
“The Nigerian authorities must uphold their constitutional and international human rights obligations by guaranteeing, protecting, and ensuring the rights to life, liberty, and security of the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun recently ordered a review of Amnesty’s allegations to compare them with operational records and intelligence reports from the region. The Defence Headquarters, however, dismissed the claims, denying any involvement of troops in extrajudicial killings.
Despite reassurances from security agencies, killings in the region persist. Between July and August 2025, at least 12 people were killed when gunmen attacked five communities in Imo State, raising fresh concerns among stakeholders and residents.
