Amnesty International has condemned the Nigerian government’s persistent failure to address rising insecurity in the country’s South-East region, accusing the authorities of allowing widespread human rights abuses and killings to go unchecked for years.

In a report titled A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in Southeast Nigeria, Amnesty said at least 1,844 people were killed and hundreds forcibly disappeared between January 2021 and June 2023.

Amnesty said the situation is an endless cycle of bloodshed fuelled by impunity, weak governance and violent reprisals by both state and non-state actors.

The report detailed incidents of arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings by Nigerian security forces and local paramilitary groups, including the state-backed Ebube Agu outfit, established in April 2021 by governors in the region.

It also linked hundreds of killings in Imo, Anambra, Abia, Enugu, and Ebonyi states to armed groups widely referred to as unknown gunmen.

According to the report, more than 400 people were killed in Imo State alone between 2019 and 2021, as attackers targeted residents, police stations and vigilante offices.

In some communities, victims were reportedly executed for refusing to pay extortion fees during events such as weddings and burials.

The rights group said the federal government’s heavy-handed crackdown on pro-Biafra protests since 2015 had worsened tensions, leading to an escalation of violence and distrust between residents and security forces.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), have repeatedly denied responsibility for attacks blamed on them. However, their enforcement of a sit-at-home order has contributed to further abuses, school closures and economic disruption across the region.

“The Nigerian authorities must stop turning a blind eye to unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, and destruction of properties in the South-East,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.

He urged the government to uphold its constitutional and international human rights obligations by ensuring justice and compensation for victims.

The group said communities in states such as Imo and Anambra had effectively become ungoverned spaces, with some traditional rulers displaced and entire villages deserted.

The report also noted that both state and non-state actors, including criminal gangs and cult groups, had contributed to the breakdown of law and order.

Amnesty’s report is being reshared on its X handle some days after the US showed growing concern over Nigeria’s handling of internal security.

Recently, US President Donald Trump accused Nigeria of tolerating religious persecution, including allowing the targeting of Christians. He then declared the state a country of particular concern.

However, the Nigerian government has rejected this as misleading and politically motivated.

Amnesty, however, called for an independent and transparent investigation into all reported abuses and urged the United Nations to monitor Nigeria’s human rights situation more closely, particularly in the country’s restive South-East.

It said impunity and official silence had encouraged both armed groups and corrupt officials, further eroding trust in government institutions.

“No one knows exactly how many people have been killed since 2015,” but the fear, displacement and daily violence show how badly the authorities are failing to protect lives and ensure law and order,” Amnesty said.