Boniface Okoro in Umuahia
Amnesty International has re-launched two reports documenting alleged human rights violations in the South-East and called on governments and security agencies to end impunity, unlawful abductions, torture and killings.
The reports, “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,” were unveiled in Umuahia on Wednesday.
Benedicta Ofili, Finance and Office Manager at Amnesty International Nigeria, said the organisation documented at least 1,844 deaths between 2021 and mid-2023 involving non-state armed groups, state-backed outfits and security operations.
Ofili also highlighted allegations of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, extortion and deaths in custody, particularly at the Anti-Kidnapping Unit popularly known as Tiger Base in Imo State.
She said Amnesty interviewed 23 former detainees, including 14 women, and recorded cases of torture and poor detention conditions. Three of those interviewed reportedly died after detention.
The organisation said insecurity has caused displacement, disruption of education, loss of livelihoods and restrictions on movement due to sit-at-home orders.
Amnesty demanded independent investigations, prosecution of perpetrators, reparations for victims, and stronger accountability by state and federal authorities.
The presentation was followed by emotional testimonies from tearful relatives of persons allegedly abducted by security operatives as they chorused, “we don’t know where they are.”
Miriam Onyema, weeping, said her husband, Kingsley Chinedu, was arrested on April 25, 2021, at Hospital Junction, Imo State, and labelled an IPOB member. She said all efforts to locate him failed.
Esther Chinedu told the gathering that her husband, Pastor Godspower Chinedu, was arrested in 2022 and has not been seen since despite repeated searches at police detention facilities.
Caroline Chukwuma said her husband, Chukwuma Nwokike, was allegedly abducted in 2021 at St. Paul Junction, Aba, and detained at CPS Aba. She said lawyers were denied access before he was allegedly transferred to Abuja.
Chinwendu Chidiebere said her husband, Chidiebere Ekwe, was arrested at his workshop in Aba on June 22, 2021, and taken to CPS Aba where the family was denied access.
Nicolas Ejekwu, an elderly man, tearfully recounted how soldiers arrested his sons, Obinna and Onyebuchi, at home. He said he was later told they were tortured and killed, with their bodies deposited at FMC Umuahia mortuary.
He added that over 50 bodies of youths allegedly killed by security agencies on suspicion of IPOB membership were found at the mortuary.
Cecilia Nmaoche said her son, Christian Ifeanyi, was allegedly abducted in 2022 and has not been seen or heard from since.
The families appealed to Amnesty and the government to help locate their loved ones and ensure those arrested are charged to court instead of being detained indefinitely.
The Attorney General of Abia, represented by Chinenye Onyemanonu, said the state has zero tolerance for abuses and forwards complaints to the Citizens’ Rights Department.
He cited a case where a family detained for six months was rescued.
Human rights activist Samuel Agwu urged rights groups to ensure victims get justice and legal representation, calling for an end to what he described as a culture of impunity in the region.