Data released by Amnesty International has revealed that more than 1,800 individuals, including a monarch, have been killed across Nigeria’s South-East region in just over two years.
The organisation has also accused both armed separatists and security forces of widespread human rights abuses and unchecked violence.
Amnesty reported that at least 1,844 people lost their lives between January 2021 and June 2023 in attacks carried out by so-called unknown gunmen, local militias, and state-backed security forces.
This violence has affected Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. The figure, gathered from victim interviews, police reports, and media verification, is part of what Amnesty describes as a decade of impunity in the country’s south-east.
One particular case highlighted in Amnesty’s recent report involves gunmen storming the palace of a traditional ruler, HRH Eze Ignatius Asor, in the Obudu Agwa community of Imo State on 14 November 2022.
Witnesses reported that around 30 armed men arrived in a convoy of Sienna buses, opened fire in the palace courtyard, and executed the monarch and two visiting chiefs in cold blood.
The attackers allegedly fired more than 16 bullets into the traditional ruler’s body before fleeing the scene. No arrests have been made since the incident.
The violence can be traced back to 2019, when armed factions began enforcing sit-at-home orders linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a banned separatist group advocating for the restoration of the defunct Biafra Republic.
While IPOB has repeatedly denied involvement in civilian killings, Amnesty’s findings reveal that various splinter groups now operate independently, launching coordinated assaults on police stations, markets, and public officials.
Imo State has been the hardest hit, recording over 400 deaths between 2019 and 2021, a figure many believe to be under-reported, followed by Anambra and Ebonyi states.
The latest data from the group also shows that since December 2022, over 100 additional fatalities have been documented, many of them victims of midnight raids, assassinations, and reprisal attacks.
In its investigation, Amnesty described the attackers’ methods as calculated and terroristic. In some communities, including Oguta and Izombe in Imo and Lilu in Anambra, residents have fled en masse as gunmen impose levies, loot livestock, and set homes ablaze.
Traditional institutions, which often serve as intermediaries in local disputes, have been decimated.
Alongside these atrocities, the report noted serious allegations against government forces and the regionally established Ebube Agu security network.
This outfit, set up in 2021 by south-east governors to curb insecurity, has been accused of arbitrary arrests, torture, and summary executions.
According to Amnesty, these dual layers of violence from non-state actors and security agencies have created a climate of fear and mistrust. Families of victims often face intimidation when seeking justice, while police investigations are either stalled or inconclusive.
“The lack of accountability emboldens perpetrators,” Amnesty stated. “Communities now live between the terror of the gunmen and the fear of those meant to protect them.”
The Nigerian Defence Headquarters has denied Amnesty’s claims, asserting that the armed forces operate strictly within the law and conduct measured, intelligence-driven operations in volatile areas.
However, civil society groups and local media continue to document reports of extrajudicial killings and property destruction during military raids in Imo, Anambra, and Ebonyi states.
The killings have also taken a toll on the region’s economy. Many small businesses have shut down due to constant stay-at-home orders, while farmers and traders avoid major highways out of fear of ambush.
Amnesty’s 2025 report, titled ‘A Decade of Impunity’, calls on the federal government to prioritise justice and accountability for victims.
The organisation urged Abuja to establish an independent judicial panel to investigate all killings, disappearances, and cases of torture in the south-east, and to provide compensation to the families of victims.
The group also demanded an end to the militarisation of civilian spaces and greater oversight of regional security outfits.
“Security must not come at the cost of human rights,” the report emphasised. “Without justice, peace in the south-east will remain elusive.”
The situation has continued to deteriorate over the past few months. In May 2025, at least 30 travellers were killed when gunmen attacked vehicles along the Okigwe-Owerri highway in Imo State, setting over 20 vehicles ablaze.
This attack occurred just weeks after 15 villagers were abducted in Anambra, while four policemen were killed in a separate ambush near Ezza North in Ebonyi.
“Act decisively to prevent Nigeria’s south-east from sliding into another full-blown conflict zone,” Amnesty urged.
