Amnesty Sounds Alarm: 1,844 Killed in South-East, Demands Justice for Victims of Human Rights Abuses
By Augustine N. Uzoezie
The persistent reports of killings, kidnappings, arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances and other forms of human rights violations in Nigeria raise a fundamental question: How can a government claim to protect its citizens when millions of people continue to live under the fear of losing their lives, freedom and future?
For many people in South-East Nigeria, particularly those who identify with the Biafran cause, the crisis goes beyond insecurity. It is also a question of justice, human dignity, equality before the law and the fundamental right to live without fear of persecution.
The Nigerian government has both a constitutional and moral obligation to protect every citizen, irrespective of ethnicity, political beliefs, geographical location or support for self-determination.
When security operations result in unlawful killings, when citizens are detained without due process, or when allegations of torture and enforced disappearances are left without credible investigation, the legitimacy and credibility of government institutions are seriously undermined.
These are not minor administrative failures. They concern the most fundamental rights of human beings: the right to life, liberty, personal security and dignity.
A Troubling Record of Violence in South-East Nigeria
The scale of violence and insecurity in South-East Nigeria demands urgent national attention and a decisive response from the relevant authorities.
In a report published on August 13, 2025, Amnesty International documented widespread human rights violations and abuses committed by state and non-state actors in the region.
According to the organisation, available data indicated that at least 1,844 people were killed in the South-East between January 2021 and June 2023.
The report, titled A Decade of Impunity: Attacks and Unlawful Killings in South-East Nigeria, documented allegations of torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, displacement and unlawful killings involving security personnel, armed groups, vigilantes, criminal gangs and other actors.
The organisation also identified a persistent climate of impunity in which victims and their families have frequently struggled to obtain justice or secure accountability for violations.
The findings raise serious questions about the responsibility of Nigerian authorities to protect citizens and investigate alleged abuses involving their personnel. They equally demonstrate the need to investigate and prosecute violence committed by armed groups rather than allow such activities to become justification for indiscriminate punishment of entire communities.
It is important to emphasise that the reported 1,844 deaths were attributed to multiple forms of violence, including protests, armed clashes, abductions, mob violence, secessionist activities, riots and electoral violence. The figure should therefore not be interpreted as deaths caused exclusively by security agencies.
Nevertheless, the scale of the reported killings underscores the urgency of restoring security, protecting civilians and ending impunity.
A government cannot restore lasting peace simply by deploying more weapons or conducting additional military operations.
Sustainable peace requires public trust, lawful policing, transparent investigations and accountability for every established violation.
Condemning Human Rights Abuses by Nigerian Security Forces
Reports of unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances associated with security operations in the South-East raise deeply troubling questions about the conduct of Nigerian security agencies.
Security forces exist to protect the public, not to intimidate or terrorise innocent citizens. No counterterrorism operation, military campaign or national security objective can legitimately place civilians outside the protection of the law.
Where members of the military, police or other security agencies are credibly accused of abusing their authority, the government must ensure prompt, independent and impartial investigations.
Those found responsible for criminal conduct must face justice through fair legal proceedings, regardless of their rank, position or political connections.
The authorities must also account for the whereabouts of people reported missing following arrest or detention.
Families should not be left searching endlessly for their loved ones without official information, access to legal assistance or an effective means of obtaining answers.
The gravity of these concerns was further highlighted in February 2026 when Amnesty International published an investigation into the Nigeria Police anti-kidnapping unit popularly known as Tiger Base in Owerri, Imo State.
The investigation, titled Nigeria: ‘Tiger Base’ of Atrocities: Human Rights Violations by Nigeria Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Owerri, documented allegations of prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, extortion, enforced disappearances, deaths in custody and degrading detention conditions.
According to Amnesty International, its investigation uncovered serious allegations involving the treatment of detainees, including unlawful arrests, prolonged detention without trial and the use of torture to obtain confessions.
These allegations are particularly disturbing because an anti-kidnapping unit established to protect citizens from abduction and criminal violence must itself operate within the law and respect the rights of every person brought into its custody.
The authorities must investigate these allegations independently, identify officers responsible for any established wrongdoing and ensure that victims and their families receive appropriate remedies.
The central principle is straightforward: the state cannot credibly fight crime while tolerating criminal conduct by those entrusted with enforcing the law.
Kidnapping, Enforced Disappearances and the Suffering of Families
Kidnapping has become a source of profound fear across Nigeria. People travelling on highways, attending school, working on farms or carrying out ordinary daily activities have increasingly faced the threat of abduction by criminal groups.
In the South-East, reports of abductions and disappearances have added another layer of suffering to communities already struggling with insecurity, economic disruption and political tension.
Every kidnapping represents more than the unlawful removal of an individual.
It creates fear and psychological trauma among parents, spouses, children and entire communities.
Families may be forced to search desperately for missing relatives, struggle to meet ransom demands or endure prolonged uncertainty about whether their loved ones are still alive.
The government must strengthen investigations, improve intelligence gathering, protect vulnerable communities and ensure that allegations of unlawful detention or disappearance involving state agents receive the same seriousness as kidnappings committed by criminal groups.
However, it is important to distinguish between abductions committed by armed criminal actors and enforced disappearances allegedly involving state personnel.
Although both constitute serious human rights concerns, the circumstances, applicable legal responsibilities and evidence required in each case must be established through credible investigations.
No person should disappear into an unaccountable system. No family should be denied the truth about the fate and whereabouts of a loved one.
The Biafran Question: Political Disagreement Is Not a Licence for Repression
The Biafran question remains one of the most sensitive political and historical issues in Nigeria.
The memory of the Nigerian Civil War, the enormous human suffering associated with it and continuing disagreements over political representation, national inclusion and self-determination remain deeply significant to many people.
For some, the Biafran cause represents a demand for self-determination, security, dignity and political autonomy. Others oppose secession and believe that Nigeria should remain united.
These competing political positions must not become a justification for violence, intimidation or persecution of ordinary citizens.
The Nigerian government has a responsibility to distinguish peaceful political advocacy from criminal conduct.
Citizens should not be subjected to violence, arbitrary detention or collective punishment merely because they hold unpopular political opinions, express support for self-determination or identify with a particular political cause.
At the same time, no political movement, armed organisation or criminal group should be permitted to kill civilians, abduct opponents, threaten residents or compel communities to obey its directives through violence.
Amnesty International’s 2025 investigation documented violations attributed to multiple state and non-state actors in the South-East, including security personnel, armed groups, vigilantes and other criminal actors.
The report also documented violence associated with the enforcement of sit-at-home orders, including attacks on people who defied them.
These findings reinforce an important point: the people of the South-East must not be forced to choose between the fear of abuse by state security agencies and the fear of violence from armed groups.
Their fundamental rights deserve protection against every source of violence.
A Government Must Be Held to a Higher Standard
The Nigerian government bears a special responsibility because it exercises public authority, controls the country’s security institutions and has a constitutional and international obligation to uphold fundamental human rights.
When credible allegations of abuses by state agents emerge, official silence, blanket denials without transparent investigations or failure to prosecute established cases can deepen public mistrust and weaken confidence in government institutions.
Where wrongdoing is established, accountability is necessary not only for the victims but also for the integrity and legitimacy of the state itself.
Criticism of government conduct should not be interpreted as an attack on Nigeria as a country.
Rather, it is an insistence that the country must uphold the constitutional principles and international obligations it has undertaken to respect.
A government that demands obedience from its citizens must itself obey the law.
A government that condemns violence by armed groups must also investigate violations committed by its own agents.
A government that promises national unity must recognise that unity cannot be sustained through fear, humiliation, discrimination or the denial of justice.
The authorities should publicly address allegations of unlawful killings, torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention in the South-East. Independent investigators must be allowed to examine available evidence, interview witnesses and identify those responsible without political interference.
Victims and their families deserve effective remedies, including compensation where appropriate, access to legal assistance, rehabilitation and guarantees against the recurrence of such violations.
Anything less risks reinforcing the perception that some communities enjoy less protection under the law than others.
International Human Rights Standards Must Be Respected
Nigeria is bound by constitutional protections and international human rights obligations, including those under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
These legal frameworks protect fundamental rights, including the right to life, freedom from torture, liberty and security of the person, and the right to a fair trial.
The prohibition of torture is particularly important. Torture cannot be justified simply because security authorities suspect an individual of involvement in criminal or security-related activities.
Similarly, anyone accused of a crime is entitled to due process. Arrests and detention must have a lawful basis, detainees must have meaningful access to legal safeguards, and allegations of criminal wrongdoing must be determined through fair judicial proceedings.
Where violence meets the legal threshold for crimes under international law, the relevant legal standards must be carefully applied on the basis of credible evidence. Serious accusations should not be made casually, but neither should credible allegations be ignored because they are politically inconvenient.
The Nigerian authorities must demonstrate that these fundamental protections apply equally in the South-East and throughout the country.
The Human Cost of Insecurity
Behind every reported death is a human being whose life mattered. Behind every missing person is a family desperately searching for answers. Behind every destroyed home is a community whose sense of safety and belonging may take years to rebuild.
Insecurity also damages education, commerce, healthcare, agriculture and other essential aspects of community life.
When residents are afraid to travel to work, children cannot attend school safely, farmers abandon their fields and businesses close because of threats, entire communities suffer the consequences.
Young people who should be building careers, acquiring skills and contributing to national development may instead grow up surrounded by fear, anger, frustration and distrust.
Families can lose their principal breadwinners, while displaced residents may struggle to obtain shelter, food, medical treatment and educational opportunities.
These consequences cannot be measured solely through casualty figures.
They must also be understood in terms of the long-term damage inflicted on social relationships, public institutions, economic activities and the hopes of future generations.
The people of the South-East, like citizens in every other part of Nigeria, deserve the opportunity to live, work, learn, conduct businesses and raise their children in peace.
What Must Change?
The continuing human rights and security crisis requires concrete action rather than political statements and occasional assurances.
First, independent investigations must be conducted.
Every credible allegation of unlawful killing, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance or destruction of civilian property must be investigated impartially. Such investigations must cover both state agents and non-state perpetrators.
Second, those responsible must be held accountable.
Where sufficient evidence establishes criminal responsibility, the suspects must face fair legal proceedings. Public office, political influence or membership of a security agency must not confer immunity from justice.
Third, missing persons must be accounted for.
The authorities must disclose information about individuals in their custody, investigate reports of disappearances and provide affected families with access to effective legal remedies.
No family should be left without answers about the fate of a relative whose whereabouts are known or should reasonably be ascertainable by government authorities.
Fourth, civilians must be protected during security operations.
Security operations must comply with applicable human rights and, where relevant, international humanitarian law.
Security personnel must employ lawful, necessary and proportionate measures while taking all feasible precautions to protect civilians.
Fifth, kidnapping and armed violence must be confronted consistently.
The government must improve intelligence-led policing, investigate ransom kidnappings, strengthen community protection mechanisms and prosecute individuals responsible for attacking, abducting or intimidating innocent citizens.
Sixth, peaceful political expression must be protected.
Political advocacy, peaceful agitation and calls for self-determination should not automatically be treated as criminal conduct. Where genuine criminal offences are alleged, they must be established through credible evidence and addressed in accordance with due process.
Seventh, victims must receive meaningful support.
Families affected by killings, disappearances and displacement need access to legal assistance, psychosocial support, appropriate compensation and effective mechanisms for obtaining justice.
Finally, dialogue must replace the politics of fear.
The government should engage communities, civil society organisations, traditional rulers, human rights defenders and peaceful representatives of differing political opinions.
Dialogue may not resolve every disagreement immediately, but repression, intimidation and impunity cannot create lasting trust or sustainable national unity.
A Call to the International Community
The international community, including the United Nations, the African Union, international human rights organisations and relevant diplomatic partners, should continue to monitor the human rights situation in Nigeria, particularly in areas affected by persistent insecurity and allegations of serious violations.
Credible allegations of abuse should receive careful and independent scrutiny.
Nigerian authorities should be encouraged to cooperate with impartial investigations, publish meaningful information about their findings and implement recommendations designed to prevent further violations.
International attention must remain grounded in evidence, fairness and the protection of all civilians. It should not become a basis for collective blame against Nigerians, any ethnic community or any religious group.
The objective should be to secure justice for victims, prevent future violations, strengthen democratic institutions and promote respect for the rule of law.
Conclusion: Justice Is the Foundation of Peace
The suffering associated with insecurity in South-East Nigeria cannot be dismissed as a local political disagreement or a problem affecting only one geographical region.
It is a serious human rights concern that demands sustained national and international attention.
The Nigerian government must answer difficult questions about the protection of civilians, the conduct of security operations, the treatment of detainees and the investigation of alleged abuses by public officials.
It must demonstrate, through transparent and measurable action, that the lives, freedoms and dignity of people in the South-East matter as much as those of citizens in every other part of the country.
At the same time, every armed group and criminal actor responsible for killing, kidnapping, torture, intimidation or other acts of violence against civilians must be held accountable.
No political cause, ethnic identity or historical grievance can justify attacks on innocent people.
The demand is not for revenge. It is for truth, justice, dignity and equal protection under the law.
The people of Biafra and the wider South-East deserve to live without the fear of unlawful violence, arbitrary arrest, torture or disappearance.
They deserve institutions that protect rather than abuse their rights, leaders who listen rather than silence legitimate concerns, and a justice system that serves the people without discrimination or political interference.
Nigeria cannot build lasting national unity by ignoring the suffering of its citizens. It cannot secure genuine peace through impunity.
And it cannot credibly defend human dignity while failing to investigate credible allegations that those rights have been violated.
The time has come for accountability without discrimination, justice without political interference and protection without ethnic or regional prejudice.
Every life matters. Every disappearance demands answers. Every credible allegation of abuse deserves investigation. And no government, institution or individual should be above the law.
Written by Augustine N. Uzoezie
