Amnesty International says it has concrete evidence, including names and addresses of individuals allegedly killed extrajudicially by the Nigerian military in the South-East geopolitical zone.
“We have our evidence and we are very glad to present those evidence. We are always in touch with families of victims and believe there is a need to do a soul-searching. 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 for the victims,” said the Country Director for Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, during an interview on The Morning Brief on Friday.
In its latest report, “A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in Southeast Nigeria,” Amnesty accused the Nigerian police, military, the regional security outfit Ebube Agu, and non-state actors of widespread human rights abuses in the region. The report documents over 1,844 deaths between January 2021 and June 2023, alongside incidents of torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and other violations.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, rejected Amnesty’s findings, insisting the military does not engage in extrajudicial killings in the South-East or anywhere in Nigeria. He maintained that security operations in the zone have instead reduced the capacity of criminal elements.
Sanusi dismissed claims by the Defence Headquarters that the organisation targets the military, stating: “I think what the defence spokesperson said is completely wrong. In the report, we also mentioned places where military men were executed or their barracks attacked. It is not about consistency in condemning the military; what we are doing is the honest thing, saying that we have cases.”
According to him, many of the alleged killings occurred during military operations in areas suspected of harbouring members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) or its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). In some cases, individuals were allegedly taken from their homes and never seen again.
Sanusi revealed that Amnesty interviewed 100 people—95 of them face-to-face in the South-East—for the report, and wrote to the military before its release to seek clarifications on the allegations, but reportedly received no response.
“In this investigation, we interviewed 100 people, 95 of them face-to-face in the South-East. Before releasing the report, we sent the military a letter informing them of the allegations and requesting any information that could help us understand how their operations affect human rights. We received no response,” he said.
He stressed that Amnesty has nothing against the military, noting: “Our records include victims killed not only by the military, but also by the police and the Ebube Agu, which was set up by some governors to address insecurity but has instead become a tool of abuse.”
