Amnesty International Nigeria has called for urgent investigations into alleged human rights violations, unlawful killings and enforced disappearances across the South-East.
The organisation made the call on Thursday in Umuahia, Abia State, during a town hall meeting on human rights violations and accountability in the region.
At the event, Amnesty presented two reports titled “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.”
Speaking at the meeting, Amnesty International Nigeria representative Benedicta Ofili said the organisation was seeking greater accountability over what it described as years of violence, loss of lives and inadequate investigations in the region.
According to Ofili, the first report documented at least 1,844 deaths between 2021 and mid-2023 across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
She said the deaths occurred amid violence involving non-state armed groups, state-backed outfits and security operations.
The organisation also alleged cases of indiscriminate raids, enforced disappearances and unlawful killings, with many incidents allegedly not followed by independent investigations or prosecutions.
Presenting the second report, Amnesty researcher Maurice Chukwu detailed alleged abuses at the Imo State Police Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, popularly known as Tiger Base.
He alleged cases of arbitrary detention, extortion, torture, deaths in custody and enforced disappearances, and called for independent investigations, prosecution where wrongdoing is established and reparations for victims and their families.
Chukwu said the campaign was aimed at ensuring that allegations of abuse were not ignored.
“This re-launch in Abia State is not merely a presentation of statistics; it is a call for accountability,” he said.
Responding, the Abia State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ikechukwu Uwanna, said the state government had zero tolerance for human rights violations.
Uwanna, represented by the Director of the Citizens’ Rights Department, Chinonyere Patience Onyemenaonu, explained that the ministry receives complaints from alleged victims, interviews them and makes recommendations to the Attorney General for appropriate action.
The town hall also featured testimonies from relatives who alleged that their loved ones had been arrested, abducted or killed by security operatives.
The families appealed to Amnesty International and government authorities to help establish the whereabouts of missing relatives and ensure that anyone accused of an offence is either released or brought before a competent court.
Amnesty subsequently called on South-East governors, the Federal Ministry of Justice and security agencies to investigate the allegations and ensure accountability.
The organisation also urged lawyers, activists, community leaders and other stakeholders to strengthen efforts against unlawful killings, enforced disappearances and impunity in the region.
