Amnesty International says at least 1,844 people were killed and hundreds more forcibly disappeared in Nigeria’s South-East between January 2021 and June 2023, amid spiralling violence by both state and non-state actors.
In a new report titled A Decade of Impunity, the rights group accuses Nigerian authorities of failing to stop what it calls a “free-for-all reign of impunity” in which gunmen, paramilitary forces, and security agencies have committed widespread human rights abuses.
In Imo State alone, over 400 people were killed between 2019 and 2021 by so-called “unknown gunmen” who have attacked residents, security posts, and markets. Amnesty says communities live in fear, with burials, weddings, and daily activities disrupted, and entire villages abandoned.
The group also accuses the state-backed Ebube Agu paramilitary of arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings, while security forces have been implicated in unlawful killings and property destruction during operations in the region.
Amnesty is urging the government to end the cycle of violence, ensure justice for victims, and hold perpetrators accountable, regardless of affiliation.
