A civil rights group, Intersociety, has claimed that over 32,300 unarmed civilians have been killed in Southeast Nigeria by state forces and local vigilantes.
These allegations were detailed in a report titled Ocean of Innocent Blood Flowing in Eastern Nigeria. The group asserts that the deaths occurred over the past nine years, from August 2015 to December 2024.
Allegations of Brutal Violence and Human Rights Violations
The report claims that more than 22,500 civilians were secretly massacred by security agencies, while 9,800 others were killed openly. Intersociety accuses the Nigerian government and its security forces of using the activities of IPOB, ESN, and Biafra as a justification for these killings. The report further accuses state actors and vigilantes of committing widespread violence against innocent civilians in the region.
Intersociety’s findings also describe other human rights abuses, such as unlawful arrests, torture, and forced disappearances. Thousands of Southeast residents were reportedly detained without cause, blindfolded, and taken to undisclosed military detention centers in the north. More than 6,000 individuals were allegedly abducted in the dead of night and dumped in various Northern states.
Additionally, the report highlights widespread extortion by security forces, with assets worth over N3 trillion allegedly seized. It also states that the destruction of civilian property by these forces amounts to N450 billion, significantly higher than the damage caused by criminal groups in the region.
Intersociety further documented the destruction of more than 300 Igbo communities, resulting in the displacement of 180,000 people. Another one million people were reportedly forced to flee their homes due to the violence. The group accused the government of complicity, alleging that law enforcement operations have been selective and biased.
The Nigerian government has not yet issued a response to the allegations. Intersociety is calling for global attention to the ongoing violence in Southeast Nigeria and demands that those responsible for these atrocities be held accountable.
