•Reports expose catalogue of abuses, massive rights violations in South East
From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
South east, the Igbo homeland is bleeding. And that’s factual! Millions of commuters, on daily basis, are exposed to extortion, while young men and women fall victims of cold-blooded murders.
Cases of killings, abductions and disappearances are being reported against security operatives and armed non-state actors even during the last yuletide.
Today, heartless extortionists in uniform straddle the region in a vice-like grip. They harass the people and treat them as cadavers for asset stripping, intimidation and dehumanisation. The full extent of this unwholesome and pervasive practice though in plain sight, has not been sufficiently and fully documented. The only known detailed scientific reports by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) paint a grim picture of the despoilation in the region.
Residents and Igbo groups including Ohanaeze Ndigbo had repeatedly cried out that the region was under siege. On the road, they are confronted by roadblocks and checkpoints mounted by various security agencies. At their homes, the rural communities inclusive, the people are faced with heavy militarisation, which has left many parts of Igbo homeland desolate.
Though, the security situation in the zone has improved recently, reports indicated that the “collateral damage” has been colossal. President of Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), Mrs Nneka Chimezie, expressed worry: “South East is under siege of sorts. Some villages have been sacked. Before now, South East was very peaceful. We the Igbo women are concerned and we want peace to return to Igbo land.”
Two reports detailing severe human rights violations in the South East published by the Intersociety particularly outlined grave atrocities committed in the region over the past nine years. Its board chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi, said the situation called for urgent international intervention.
The reports, “Ocean of innocent blood flowing in Eastern Nigeria” and “Human rights made in Nigeria,” revealed systemic abuses by both state and non-state actors, including extrajudicial killings, abductions and widespread property destruction:
“Nigerian security forces unlawfully killed over 32,300 civilians, razed 6,000 homes, and displaced more than one million people, while non-state armed groups reportedly killed 14,500 individuals, abducted 65,000 others, and extorted victims of over N500 billion in ransom payments.”
Coordinator of the Igbo Genocide Survivors’ Committee (IGSC), Luke Nwannunnu, said: “The scale of the atrocities is both shocking and unacceptable. These reports are a stark reminder of the horrors unfolding in Eastern Nigeria.”
The experts highlighted widespread ethnic and religious profiling, arbitrary arrests and torture, with 95 per cent of security intelligence in the region described as highly questionable: “We call on the UN Special Rapporteurs and the ICC to urgently investigate and prosecute those responsible for these crimes.”
The experts also urged President Donald Trump administration to adopt the reports as part of its human rights and development policies on Nigeria. They emphasised that U.S. aid and international partnerships should not be used to support state violence.
The reports made 76 recommendations, including anti-corruption measures in Nigeria’s security sector, digitalisation of law enforcement and oversight to ensure that international aid did not fuel violence against civilians.
The reports were endorsed by leaders from (IGSC), Ekwenche Research Institute and Organisation, Global Igbo Leaders (GIL), Billie Human Rights Initiative, American Military Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), World Igbo Congress (WIC), Igbo Board of Deputies International, NEW Foundation, Igbo League, Inc., People’s Creative Empowerment International, South-East CLO, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Others are, Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu, Catholic Social Teaching Initiative, St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Ozubulu, University of Nigeria’s Political Science Department, Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, I.C. Ejiofor & Co., Abuja and Nnewi, Educational Management and Policy Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Vienna Strategic Planning Committee, London Financial Analysts’ Association, Zurich International Human Rights Campaign, Madrid Doctors’ Coalition, Abakiliki Human Rights Initiative, Washington DC Political Analysts’ Society and Houston Democracy Campaigners.
Neither the federal government nor security agencies had reacted to the twin-report.
Regardless, in their request to President Bola Tinubu during his visit to Enugu State, leaders of the zone appealed to him to direct the dismantling of the roadblocks. Secretary of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Chief Onyemuche Nnamani, who spoke at a town hall meeting with the president lamented that the obstacles mounted by the security agencies delayed human and vehicular movements even as they made goods expensive.
Convener of the Ndi Igbo Awake Initiative, USA, Gaius Chibueze, said: “Apart from the needless deaths of our people at the hands of trigger-happy officers manning these checkpoints, the damage to the psyche of our people is deep and incalculable.
“For several years, the police and military are deliberately waging a physical and psychological warfare against the people.”