We’ve evidence, IPoB strongholds targeted, Amnesty counters military, IGP orders probe

•Rights group accuses security forces and other actors of widespread abuses in Igboland

By Nnamdi Ojiego & Kingsley Omonobi

Following denial by the Nigerian military that its personnel engaged in extrajudicial killings in the South-East, Amnesty International (AI) has said it has “concrete evidence,” including names and addresses of individuals, allegedly killed by security forces in the region.

The human rights group claimed that many of the victims were targeted during military and police operations in areas suspected of harbouring members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB) or its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, had dismissed Amnesty’s claims, asserting that security forces do not engage in extrajudicial killings and that operations in the South-East have instead reduced the capacity of criminal groups. He also accused the rights group of consistently targeting the military with biased reports.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, Isah Sanusi, Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, however, pushed back, saying the report also documented attacks against military personnel and their facilities.

“It is not about condemning the military. We are doing the honest thing, documenting human rights violations regardless of who committed them,” he said, adding that Amnesty wrote to the military before the report’s release but received no response.

Sanusi revealed that the organisation interviewed 100 individuals in the region, 95 of them face-to-face, while compiling its latest 128-page report, “A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria.”

According to the report, over 1,844 people were killed between January 2021 and June 2023, with documented cases of torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and other human rights violations by the military, police, the Ebube Agu regional security outfit, and non-state actors.

Sanusi noted that many killings happened in operations targeting IPoB and ESN strongholds. “We have our evidence, and we are very glad to present it. We are always in touch with families of victims,” he said. “Let us sit down, look at those cases, find out who did what and when, and make sure that the full weight of the law comes in to ensure justice.”

Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered a comprehensive institutional review of the report. The IGP’s directive was announced by Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement titled, “South-East: IGP Initiates Institutional Review of Amnesty International Report, Reaffirms Police Commitment to Human Rights, Accountability.”

According to the statement, the review will involve a detailed, line-by-line evaluation of the report’s claims, cross-referencing them with internal records, operational intelligence, and field reports from police commands and tactical units across the South-East.

“While the Nigeria Police Force remains committed to upholding the fundamental rights of all citizens, it is necessary to note that previous reports by Amnesty International have at times included factual inaccuracies and sweeping generalisations,” the statement said.

The IGP emphasized that the review would be guided by facts and a commitment to institutional integrity.

The police pledged to issue a “detailed and evidence-based” response upon completion of the review and reiterated their openness to engagement with civil society, human rights groups, and international partners.

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