IPOB refutes report, reaffirms commitment to non-violent advocacy
A new report by Amnesty International (AI) has exposed a deepening human rights crisis in Nigeria’s South-East region, documenting at least 1,844 killings, hundreds of forced disappearances, and widespread violations committed by both state and non-state actors between January 2021 and June 2023.
In the 124-page report titled, ‘A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria’, presented in Abuja on Wednesday, Amnesty’s Nigeria Director, Isa Sanusi, said that the government must stop turning a blind eye to unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, detention, forced disappearances, torture, and destruction of properties in the South-East region.
Addressing a press briefing in Abuja before presenting the report, Sanusi said: “Authorities must ensure perpetrators, regardless of affiliation, are brought to justice, and victims receive remedies.”
The report paints a harrowing picture of life in the South-East, where armed groups known locally as “unknown gunmen”, cult gangs, and state-backed forces have operated with impunity.
The latest report indicted the police, army, the regional security outfit, Ebube Agu, and non-state actors for massive killings and various violations of human rights in the region.
Amnesty International urged the government to act fast and stop the killings in the region. Sanusi said: “The Nigerian authorities’ brutal clampdown on pro-Biafra protests from August 2015 plunged the region into an endless cycle of bloodshed, which has created an atmosphere of fear, leaving many communities vulnerable. Assassinations of prominent personalities and attacks on highways, security personnel, and facilities are chilling reminders of the region’s insecurity.
“Authorities must live up to their constitutional and international human rights obligations, including ensuring all suspected perpetrators are brought to justice in fair trial, no matter who they are, and that victims and their families have access to justice and effective remedies.” The government, police and army have yet to react to the allegations as of the time of filing the report.
MEANWHILE, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has AI’s report as a misrepresentation of its role and position regarding violent sit-at-home orders.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB reiterated its non-violent stance, disassociating itself from any enforcement of sit-at-home directives, noting that the group officially ended such orders in July 2023.
The statement said: “Since July 24, 2023, IPOB has made it clear through public statements and media channels that all sit-at-home directives have been cancelled. Any acts of violence carried out in relation to these directives are not sanctioned by IPOB.”
The group expressed reservations over parts of the AI’s report that referenced unnamed expert sources casting doubt on IPOB’s claims of non-involvement in such incidents. It argued that these characterisations could inadvertently blur the lines between its activities and those of unrelated actors in the region.
