Amnesty International calls for investigation into human rights violations and unlawful killings in Nigeria's South-East
Amnesty International Nigeria has urged governors in the South-East, the Federal Ministry of Justice, and security agencies to investigate reported human rights violations and unlawful killings in the region. The call was made during a town hall in Umuahia, Abia State, where Amnesty International presented two reports: "A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria" and "Tiger Base of Atrocities: Human Rights Violations by Nigeria Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Owerri." Benedicta Ofili of Amnesty International Nigeria stated that the first report documented at least 1,844 deaths between 2021 and mid-2023 across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states, occurring amid a "brutal crossfire involving non-state armed groups, state-backed outfits, and heavy-handed security operations." The report also documented alleged indiscriminate raids, enforced disappearances, and unlawful killings, with many incidents lacking independent investigations or prosecutions. Insecurity has also led to displacement, disrupted education, and created "ungoverned spaces" due to enforced sit-at-home orders. Maurice Chukwu, an Amnesty researcher, presented the second report, detailing alleged abuses by the Imo State Police Command鈥檚 Anti-Kidnapping Unit, known as Tiger Base. These alleged abuses include prolonged arbitrary detention, extortion, physical torture, deaths in custody, and enforced disappearances, some involving the separation of children from detained mothers
