167 Persons Killed by Nigerian Security Forces Since January – Amnesty International Alleges

According to an Amnesty International investigation, at least 167 people have been documented as victims of merciless force by Nigerian security personnel between January and June 2021.

The international organization said that Nigerian security forces, including the military, police, and the Department of State Services (DSS), had perpetrated a slew of human rights breaches and crimes under international law in their response to the escalating violence in Southeast Nigeria.

Since January, the forces have been accused of carrying out a repressive campaign that included mass arrests, excessive and unlawful force, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment.

According to the group, some of the 400 suspected ESN members arrested by the Imo State government in May were picked up at random in their homes and on the streets.

Amnesty International evaluated media accounts, video and audio recordings to accuse Nigerian security personnel of using excessive force and other illegal methods to confront the escalating violence.

According to reports, Nigerian security forces initiated security operations in June when gunmen suspected of being ESN militants attacked government facilities, including prisons and public buildings, killing a number of police personnel.

According to the organization, Nigerian security forces in the states of Anambra, Imo, Abia, and Ebonyi allegedly executed their victims for no apparent reason.

Amnesty International’s Country Director, Osai Ojigho, accused the Nigerian government of retaliating with a “hard hand” to killings and violence blamed on the armed group Eastern Security Network (ESN), a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a pro-Biafra movement.

From January through June, the ESN allegedly killed scores of security officers and attacked at least 10 public institutions, including prisons and police stations, according to government sources, according to Ojigho.

She claimed that in reaction, security personnel “killed scores of militants, as well as civilians, in areas where attacks were committed.”

According to eyewitness accounts, security agents used force, physical torture, extortion, house burnings, theft, and extrajudicial executions of suspects, according to the right organization.