Amnesty International Calls For Probe Into Human Rights Violations, Killings In Southeast 

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Amnesty International (AI) has called on the Nigerian relevant authorities  to rise up and address the alarming security crisis in the south-east region of the country, saying 1,844 people have been killed in the area between January 2021 and June 2023.

To this end, the organization urged the authorities to ensure a transparent, impartial and effective investigation of killings, assassinations, enforced disappearances and other atrocities committed by state and non-state actors since August 2015 in the geo political zone.

Director of Amnesty International, Nigeria, Isa Sanusi made the call on Tuesday in Enugu during the overview of a report of the organization entitled ” A Decade of Impunity : Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria” 

The group noted that the persistent failure of the government to address the security crisis in the country’s South-East region has created a free-for-all reign of impunity in which numerous state and non-state actors have committed serious human rights violations and killed at least 1,844 people between January 2021 and June 2023.

“The report of A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in Southeast Nigeria, which documents unlawful killings, torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests at the hands of rampaging gunmen, state-backed paramilitary outfits, vigilante, criminal gangs and cults groups in the South-East region provides the authorities with adequate leads to open an investigation that will end the impunity and provide victims with justice.

“The Nigerian authorities’ brutal clampdown on pro-Biafra protests from August 2015 plunged the South-East region into an endless cycle of bloodshed, which has created a climate of fear and left many communities vulnerable. Assassinations of prominent personalities and attacks on highways, security personnel and facilities are chilling reminders of the region’s insecurity,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.

“The report is based on interviews with 100 people, including survivors, victims’ relatives, civil society members, lawyers, traditional leaders, and religious leaders. Amnesty International also conducted research missions to Owerri in Imo state, Asaba in Delta state, Obosi in Anambra state, and Enugu in Enugu state between April 2023 to November 2023” he stated.

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