Amnesty international alleges extrajudicial killings by Nigerian military in South-East, presents evidence
Amnesty International says it has obtained concrete evidence, including names and addresses of individuals allegedly killed extrajudicially by the Nigerian military in the South-East. The organisation’s Country Director, Isa Sanusi, disclosed this while calling for a thorough investigation to ensure justice for victims.
In its latest report titled “A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in Southeast Nigeria”, Amnesty accused the Nigerian police, the military, the regional security outfit Ebube Agu, and non-state actors of widespread human rights abuses. The report documents over 1,844 deaths between January 2021 and June 2023, alongside cases of torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and other violations.
Sanusi said many killings occurred during operations targeting suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) or its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), with some victims allegedly picked up from their homes and never seen again. He added that Amnesty interviewed 100 people — 95 of them face-to-face in the South-East — and wrote to the military before releasing the report but received no response.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, dismissed the allegations, insisting the military does not engage in extrajudicial killings in the South-East or anywhere in Nigeria, and stressing that security operations in the region have weakened criminal elements.
Sanusi rejected claims that Amnesty consistently targets the military, noting that the report also recorded attacks on soldiers and their barracks. He stressed that the organisation’s findings included abuses by the police and Ebube Agu, which he said has become a tool for rights violations despite its creation to combat insecurity.
