Biafuru News

02/02/2025

****A ONE DAY ULI ART WORKSHOP
TO CO-CREATE ART REFLECTING BIAFRA ****

Are you a Biafran woman here in the UK?
You may not be an IPOB member, but this workshop, organised by our sister, Gloria Adaeze Adichie is an unveiling tool for many to understand the essence of Biafra.

Her thesis theme resonates with me because it is contextualized within the sphere of spirituality.
Please see below the details. Come with your bag of knowledge or understanding to support our own.

See you on the 19th of February, 2025.

My name is, Aha m bụ - Uchechigeme Anyanwụụtụtụ Okwu-Kanu.

02.02.2025




"CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS
ULI ART WORKSHOP
Co-Create Art Reflecting Biafra as:

A Spirit
A Religion
📅 Date: Wednesday, 19th February 2025
🕙 Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
📍 Location: House of Transformation, Unit 4, 222 Kingsland Road, E2 8AX, East London

Join Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Women in the UK for a 1-day immersive Uli art workshop. Together, we will explore and create artworks inspired by the essence and spirituality of Biafra.

💵 Participant Allowance: £100 (transport allowance)
🎓 About the Workshop:
This workshop is part of a PhD research project by Gloria Adaeze Adichie from the University of Leeds.

To register or for more information, contact:
📧 [email protected]
📞 07354597918

Let’s celebrate and express the enduring spirit of Biafra through art!"

02/02/2025

Drug trafficking in Lake Chad region generates $400 billion annually — UNODC official claims.

Ousmane Touré, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) country representative for Nigeria, says drug trafficking generates an estimated $400 billion annually for criminal networks operating across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin regions.

Touré spoke at a panel session on curbing illicit drug trafficking and drug abuse to prevent violent extremism at the fifth Lake Chad Governors’ forum on Friday in Maiduguri, Borno state capital.

The UNODC official said the massive scale of the illicit drug trade fuels a wide range of criminal activities, including arms smuggling, human trafficking, and money laundering.

He added that criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking are increasingly diversifying their operations, establishing complex value chains that link the drug trade with other forms of transnational organised crime.

These networks need a value chain,” he said, highlighting how the exploitation of natural resources, such as gold mining, often intersects with drug trafficking activities in conflict zones.

Touré pointed out that the challenges of securing evidence on the connections between drug trafficking and terrorism further underscore the need for more investment in research and evidence-based studies.

02/02/2025

🌍 The AES is moving towards implementing a community visa

On February 1–2, experts from the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) are meeting in Bamako, Mali, to discuss their visa policy.

After the launch of the AES common biometric passport on January 29, a community visa, called the "Liptako visa," should facilitate the entry of non-ECOWAS nationals into the three member countries, local media reported.

The conclusions reached by the experts after their meeting will need to be approved by the ministers responsible for security in the member countries of the alliance.

🔸 Sputnik Africa 🔸

01/02/2025

Nigeria’s Judiciary: The Temple of Injustice and the Theatre of the Absurd

In the grand amphitheater of Nigerian governance, where truth is a fugitive and integrity an outcast, the judiciary stands as the lead performer in a tragicomedy so absurd that even the best playwrights of history would struggle to imagine it. Yesterday, in another episode of its endless soap opera, the judiciary upheld the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), confirming what we all suspected: the Nigerian courts no longer serve justice; they serve the highest bidder, the most ruthless politician, and the most well-fed god of corruption.

One must admire the sheer dedication of Nigerian judges to their craft—the craft of judicial gymnastics, where they bend laws like acrobats in a circus and twist logic like a contortionist desperate for applause. The proscription of IPOB is a masterpiece of such absurdity that even the gods of irony must be clapping in admiration. Here is an organization that exists lawfully across the world—recognized in civilized societies as a peaceful movement advocating self-determination. But in Nigeria, a land where truth is illegal and justice is a crime, IPOB is labeled a terrorist group while actual terrorists are labeled "repentant."

What a sight to behold! The mighty Nigerian judiciary, that sacred temple of fairness, that noble guardian of the rule of law—now reduced to a marketplace where judgments are auctioned to the highest bidder. It is said that justice is blind, but in Nigeria, justice is not just blind; it is also deaf, mute, and conveniently amnesiac.

How else do we explain the legal wizardry that led to IPOB’s proscriptions while Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, and Fulani herdsmen continue to enjoy presidential pardons, foreign scholarships, and juicy government contracts? Oh, but let us not question the wisdom of our learned justices, for they operate on a level of reasoning so sophisticated that mere mortals cannot comprehend it. To them, an unarmed IPOB member waving a flag is more dangerous than an AK-47-wielding terrorist who burns down villages and slaughters innocent Nigerians.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us all pause for a moment and appreciate the sacred texts from which our judges derive their wisdom. No, not the Constitution. No, not the Nigerian Criminal Code. Those books are mere decoration.The real guiding principles of Nigerian justice are as follows:

This sacred scroll dictates that court rulings must favor the ruling government, no matter how ridiculous the argument. If the government says rain is dry and the sun is cold, then so it shall be by court order.
Woe unto any case that lacks financial lubrication! A judgment without bribes is like a soup without seasoning—tasteless and unacceptable.

In these sacred verses, the law applies strictly to the poor and the opposition but bends generously for the rich and powerful. Steal a loaf of bread, and you shall be jailed for life. Steal billions from public funds, and you shall be invited for national honors.

When the court upheld IPOB’s proscription, legal scholars across the world must have choked on their coffee. How does a government that pardons terrorists, negotiates with kidnappers, and begs bandits to "repent" suddenly develop the courage to outlaw a peaceful movement advocating self-determination?

Perhaps the judges attended a special legal seminar titled "How to Criminalize Innocence and Legalize Oppression." Maybe they took a masterclass in "Selective Justice for the Highest Bidder."

And let us not forget the official reasoning behind IPOB’s proscription it was declared a "threat to national security." The same national security that Boko Haram has not threatened, that herdsmen massacres have not jeopardized, that the grand looting of national treasury has not undermined! But IPOB, a group that merely asks for the right to self-determination, is the real threat? If logic were a person, it would have packed its bags and left Nigeria by now.

It is truly a wonder how Nigerian judges manage to sleep at night, knowing full well that their rulings contribute to the misery of millions. Do they count stolen votes instead of sheep? Do they read bank alerts instead of bedtime stories? Or do they recite their infamous mantra: "May the highest bribe win!

When the history of Nigeria is written, the judiciary will be remembered not as the defender of the common man but as the chief architect of his suffering. The judges who sit in their polished chambers, pretending to uphold justice while selling it like cheap merchandise, will one day realize that no amount of stolen wealth can buy back a lost conscience.

But until then, the show must go on. The judiciary, like a bad comedian who does not know when to leave the stage, will continue performing its tragic comedy. They will continue twisting laws, jailing the innocent, freeing the guilty, and reducing justice to a mockery.

And so, as we witness yet another ridiculous ruling, let us salute the Nigerian judiciary for its dedication to absurdity. Long live the honorable judges, the grandmasters of hypocrisy, the architects of oppression, the loyal servants of corruption!

For in this country, justice is no longer blind it is dead, buried, and forgotten.

Family Writers Press International

01/02/2025

01/02/2025

Report: Killings, Abductions And Disappearances Aimed At Violently Seizing And Pocketing Criminal Billions By Police, Military And Armed Non-State Actors Took The Center Stage Of 2024 Christmas And 2025 New Year Holidays In The South-East

Report: Killings, Abductions And Disappearances Aimed At Violently Seizing And Pocketing Criminal Billions By Police, Military And Armed Non...

01/02/2025

The ESN Command 4th Anniversary videos and pictures were deliberately delayed because of the security concerns at the time of publication. However, the global family of IPOB and Biafrans in general salute the historic 4th Anniversary of our gallant men and women. We salute their bravery , dedication, and excellent service to our fatherland Biafra. In a special way, we honor the gallant heroes who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in their effort to keep our people safe. The warrior’s spirit in the living and departed Comrades are working together to ensure that we restore Biafra Nation. Once again, we say congratulations to the men and women under the ESN Command!”.

The statement however explains “EASTERN SECURITY NETWORK(ESN) is an Indigenous Vigilantee Security outfit founded by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the family of IPOB worldwide. The primary mission of ESN is to protect the people of the South Eastern region in the contraption called Nigeria from the marauding terrorists Fulani herdsmen. Prior to the formation of ESN, the murderous Fulani bandits and terrorists occupied many of Biafran’s forests and bushes. From the occupied bushes and forests, they launch attacks on our local farmers, the farmlands, and communities in our region. There were uncountable cases of Fulani terrorists attacks on many communities with countless women r***d and many people, including children, killed by these soulless terrorists. But in the last 4 years of ESN operations in our land, the cases of Fulani herdsmen mass murder, rapes, killing of farmers, and displacement of communities in the Biafra territory are almost non existent”.

“On this 4th anniversary of the ESN Command, the worldwide family of IPOB wishes to reassure Ndigbo and Biafrans worldwide that ESN has the utmost interest of Biafrans above their own personal interest. They are under oath to safeguard the region and the people. That is why, for the past 4 years, they have sacrificed a lot for the greater good of Biafra land. They have lived in the bushes, confronted a lot of challenges, and faced many difficult circumstances, including loss of lives. However, they have scaled by adopting adaptive strategies and prayers of Biafrans and other lovers of freedom”.

“The IPOB leadership and IPOB worldwide have tremendously tried very hard to sustain ESN, and the Biafra struggle in the absence of our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Their resolve and determination to sustain and support ESN financially and morally can not be overemphasized. ESN remains the last line of defense for Biafra Nation. It beholds Biafrans at home and in diaspora to join IPOB in providing logistical support for ESN to continue to protect our land for the battles ahead”.

“ESN Operatives have a strong sense of ethics and morality in discharging their duties. Therefore, be assured that ESN shall not engage in any criminal activity or in the killing or destroying of the people they have vowed to protect. There are serious consequences for any ESN Operative that goes against the ESN Code of Conduct and ethics”.

“In this year 2025, ESN will intensify their activities in sting operations against all the criminals who have turned our land into a place where all manner of evil and abominable activities; ritual killings, extortion, illegal arrest, and forceful disappearances, drug businesses take place. It is going to be an eye for an eye operation. Biafra Land must be free from all forms of criminality and terrorism being sponsored by the Nigerian government and desperate politicians just to tarnish the image of ESN, IPOB and the Biafra struggle”.

“ESN hereby warn all the local vigilantes under any code name in Biafra Land to tread with caution in discharging their duties. ESN operatives are not against the genuine vigilantees that are helping to curb crimes. But they must not cross the red lines by being a tool in the hands of the Nigerian Government and her murderous Security Forces to hunt, abduct, and kill any IPOB member or any innocent Biafran in Biafra territory. If they do, they should be ready to have a confrontation with ESN”.

ESN shall apply all necessary measures to facilitate the evacuation of terrorists and bandits in the uniform of the Nigerian Security Agencies out of the Biafra Region. Some of the people in these security uniforms are terrorists and criminals parading as state actors.
ESN shall impose harsh punishment on any Biafran conniving with the Fulani herdsmen in land acquisition in the South East Region. Moreso, those individuals making money by pointing fingers at IPOB members to be abducted or killed by the Nigerian murderous Security Forces should be ready to be paid in the same coin.

Finally, the global family of IPOB once again call on the Nigerian Government under Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other Biafrans abducted by the Nigeria DSS, Army and Police and detained unjustly. Self-determination is not a crime under any law in the world.
IPOB shall never retreat nor surrender until Biafrans are given the right to vote in a referendum or exit Nigeria in some other other way.
God bless Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB Leadership for launching ESN to save our people from the Fulani bloody terrorists. God bless ESN Operatives for their bravery and sacrifices.

01/02/2025

Biafra: IPOB Uncovers Plot Targeting Ndigbo for Extermination

In a recent press release, the Directorate of State (DOS) of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) frowns at a statement by prominent Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi who is directly instigating efforts to create chaos and destabilize the southeastern region of Nigeria.

According to the statement, "Sheikh Gumi, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, proposed that the government arm Igbo youths to combat IPOB members". IPOB claims that this statement is part of a broader plot to provoke conflict in the Southeast region. The Biafra Freedom movement further pointed to a viral video showing the new Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Imo State assembling armed youths and instructing them to target IPOB members.

iconsnews.com/2025/01/biafra…

31/01/2025

*DID YOU KNOW?*

Did you know that Uzuakoli, Bende LGA in Abia state was once designated by the British as the safest place on Earth to provide a hiding place for the King of England in the heat of World War 11 and so the King lived there at what is known now as the King’s Bunker at the Methodist College Uzuakoli.

It was of course a top secret.

Ojukwu merely converted the same bunker for his use during the civil war.

Also unknown to many, in the heat of Azikiwe’s media battle with the British over the soul of Nigeria, Zik announced that his life was threatened and went underground.

He chose Uzuakoli and James Okeke, a settler who was the only one to volunteer his home, a thatched house at today’s strangers’ quarters for Zik to live.

Furthermore not many know that Nigeria’s first Military Head Of State Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi hails from Amankwo Uzuakoli.

His father Ironsi was ostracized from the village for seven years for a traditional offense but was expected to offer a sacrifice after serving this sentence but did not do so.

He passed on leaving his children behind one of which happens to be the General.

When he became Head Of State, he organized elders and his kits and kin to fulfill this traditional obligation and he was duly decorated at State House to pave way for his return to his ancestral home.

When he was killed, the Uzuakoli people played a prominent role in his burial.

When then-President Ibrahim Babangida came to Commission the Uzuakoli Electricity project in the 80s he shocked many observers when he removed his socks and stepped on the bare sand at the Methodist Practicing School Uzuakoli.

He wanted a feel of this sacred soil that saved his life when he was wounded during the civil war.

It was an Uzuakoli woman who nursed him back to life risking her own life and allegiance in the process.

By 1993 IBB had stepped aside but was not safe. He found Uzuakoli again a safe haven while the June 12 fire burned itself out.

When the Civil war ended in 1970 it happened under the Crest of Methodist College because both combatants found it a common ground to lay down their arms in trust since both sides had students of the great College.

Uzuakoli also boosts of three great actors in the movie industry. Mike Ezuronye who is from Amamba, Uzuakoli, Chinedu Ikedieze (Aki) from Eluoma too and Nnenna Nwabueze (Merit of Living in Bo***ge) who is from Ngwu part of Uzuakoli.

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31/01/2025

"Currently, we have two sets of laws in Nigeria.
We have the law for the north and the law for the south. In the north, terrorists are called bandits, government negotiate with them and pay them huge amount of money for their terrorism.

In the south, unarmed freedom fighters are called terrorists, government arrest them and even kill them at will. In the north, police don't arrest criminals or extort motorists.
In the south, police arrest innocent citizens and extort motorists.
In the north, Islamic police (Hisbah) arrest Nigerian police for drinking alcohol. In the south, police arrest vigilantes that drink alcohol and label them criminals.

In the north, northern youth can kill innocent southerners and no one will arrest them.
In the south, southern youths get arrested for defending themselves against armed Fulani herdsmen that intend to kill them.
How will people believe in one Nigeria with these kinds of treatments?"

-Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe

31/01/2025

*Ikwerre people should wake up because the war is over*

I don’t blame the Ikwerre for denying their Igbo origin during the war, but I blame their elders for not telling their children the truth after the war.

During the Nigeria Civil war, Ikwerre denied their Igbo origin to avoid being k!lled. Even some of our people in Anioma also denied their Igbo origin to survive.

However, after the civil war, Ikwerre elders continued to deny their Igbo origin and transferred identity cr!sis to their children till today.

I blame the elders in Ikwerre for identity cr!sis in Ikwerre land today.

- Late Olisanye Ebigwei, Ibuzo Delta State

31/01/2025

ESN At 4,declares Zero Tolerance For Crime In South East - Crime - Nairaland

https://www.nairaland.com/8330994/esn-4declares-zero-tolerance-crime

30/01/2025

Our duty is to educate those ignorant generation who allow the enemies to deceive them to be confused of their true identity.

30/01/2025

Killings, Abductions And Disappearances Aimed At Violently Seizing And Pocketing Criminal Billions By Police, Military And Armed Non-State Actors Took The Center Stage Of 2024 Christmas And 2025 New Year Holidays In The South-East

Intersociety
Police and military seized at gunpoint and criminally pocketed N21.8billion (police N15billion and military N6.8billion) from South-East roadblock and barracks’ extortions in two months: Dec 2024-Jan 2025

Uga Junction and Atani Road Naval checkpoints most ‘lucrative’ in South-East; N600million (N1m per day) seized at gunpoint and criminally pocketed in two months (Dec 2024-Jan 2025) from at least ten extortion sources

kidnappers seized N600million from defenseless abductees in 20 days: Dec 28-Jan 18 and N1.2billion in two months (Dec 2024-Jan 2025)

180 defenseless citizens killed in two months: 140 by armed non-state actors; and 40 others killed outside the law by military, police and killer-vigilantes

200 defenseless Southeasterners abducted in two months: 160 by armed non-state actors; and 40 others held outside the law and facing permanent disappearance by military, police and killer-vigilantes

Intersociety Report:
Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria
Thursday, January 30, 2025

Nigerian Military Criminally Pocketed N6.8billion In Two Months: Dec-Jan:

The deployed personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force and their High Commands in the South-East are responsible for seizing under gunpoint not less than N21.8billion from motorists, other road users and those who came in contacts with them in their barracks between December 1, 2024, and Jan 31, 2025. The sum represented “criminal billions” drawn from direct and indirect roadblock and “barracks extortions”; numbering over twenty sources and seized from members of the civilian population with legitimate means of livelihood who were extorted while preparing or returning for 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year holidays or extorted while heading back to their bases after the holidays. The findings above were derived from detailed research and investigation and their findings contained in the Intersociety’s December 22, 2024-Special International Report: “Ocean Of Innocent Blood Flowing In Eastern Nigeria”. The 282-Page Special International Report was unveiled in Enugu on December 22, 2024 at an international Press Conference. Not less than 19 pages (105-124) were set aside in the Report on police and military extortions and allied corrupt practices in Eastern Nigeria particularly in the South-East. The deployed security forces and their high commands were found to have mindlessly perpetrated the trio of armed state actor conduct-atrocities in the Region; namely: abductions, unlawful killings and corrupt practices of alarming proportion.

According to patterns and trends of these extortions studied by the Report, there are presently at least 300 direct military roadblocks, and 500 patrol teams or indirect roadblocks mounted on South-East roads-with 98% of them engaging in direct and indirect roadblocks extortions using publicly procured assault rifles and their ammunitions and patrol vans. These extortions and allied corrupt practices by military personnel are contrary to Section 108 of the Armed Forces Act of 2004 which prescribes fourteen years jail for any military personnel found involved in offense of extortion. The Report further found that average of N100,000 is illicitly pocketed daily by each of the military roadblocks; translating to N80m daily from 800 military roadblocks and patrol teams in the South-East or N2.4billion per month and N4.8billion in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025. Addition of N2billion was included and estimated to have arisen from “direct and indirect barracks extortions” and allied others-totaling N6.8billion, seized at gunpoint and illicitly pocketed from South-East motorists and allied others including those that encountered the military personnel in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025.
Further discovered were not less than ten sources of indirect military extortion in the South-East: with a clear case in point being patterns and trends of the corrupt practices of the officers and personnel of the Ogbaru Base of the Nigerian Navy at Onitsha and Ogbaru-the most lucrative military roadblock in the South-East; to the extent that not less than N1m is seized at gunpoint and criminally pocketed daily; translating to at least N600m in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025 by the Uga Junction Main Naval Checkpoint and three others located along Atani Road and Harbor Industrial Layout in Ogbaru, Anambra State.

Nigeria Police Force Criminally Pocketed N15billion In Two Months: Dec-Jan

In the past two months under reference, the deployed officers and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and their high commands manning estimated 2,500 direct roadblocks and patrol teams or indirect roadblocks on South-East roads and allied others are found to have been responsible for seizing at gunpoint and criminally pocketing not less than N15billion from motorists, other road users and those that encountered the police authorities at their barracks. The breakdown of the above indicated that Imo State with highest number of police roadblocks and patrol teams (700) in the South-East accounted for N2.94billion in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025; on daily average of N49million (N70,000 per police roadblock), N1.47billion monthly and N2.94billion in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025.

Anambra State, which presently maintains second largest police roadblocks and patrol teams in the Region with estimated 600, N42million was criminally pocketed daily, N1.26billion monthly and N2.52billion in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025. In Abia State with third largest police roadblocks and patrol teams of estimated 500 in the Region, N35million was criminally pocketed daily, N1.05billion monthly and N2.1billion in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025. In Enugu State with fourth largest police roadblocks and patrol teams of 400 in the Region, N28million was criminally pocketed daily, N840million monthly and N1.68billion in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025; and Ebonyi State with fifth largest police roadblocks in the Region of 300 police roadblocks and patrol teams, N21m was pocketed daily, N630m monthly and N1.26billion in two months of December and January 2025.

Addition of estimated N3.5billion was made, representing ‘criminal billions’ seized at gunpoint from those that encountered police authorities at police barracks including “bail fees” and monetization and commercialization of arrest, detention and criminal investigations as well as N1billion added as “dark figures of crimes”; totaling estimated N15billion; or N10.5billion arising from direct and indirect roadblock extortions plus N3.5billion arising from “Police Barracks Extortions” and N1billion arising from “dark figures of police corruption proceeds”; totaling N15billion. It must be informed that Police roadblock extortion in Nigeria particularly in the South-East is prohibited and criminalized by Section 99 of the Criminal Code Act of 2004 and Section 408 of the Penal Code Act of 2004; both of which prescribe jail terms of three-seven years; and three-fourteen years respectively.

Kidnappers Seized N600m In 20 Days (Dec 28-Jan 18) And N1.2b In Dec-Jan

Estimated N600million was seized at gunpoint from 2024 Christmas and January 2025 New Year holiday makers or returnees by armed non-state actors operating with assault rifles and criminal digital devices in Anambra, Imo, Enugu and others. The seizure of the estimated N600million by armed criminal syndicates affected more than 100 victims forced at gunpoint to pay the ransoms demanded, which heightened between December 28, 2024, and January 18, 2025; a period that marked the peak of the two festivities during which members of many South-East families returned home for post-Christmas and New Year activities including burials, funerals, marriage ceremonies, town union meetings, etc. Among the five South-East States, the worst hit was Anambra where estimated N250million or more was seized from kidnap victims through their relatives, friends and associates; out of which Aguata, Orumba North and Orumba South Local Government Areas took the lead with not less than N150million including N35million paid at gunpoint by relatives and associates of a multimillionaire businessman between Ezinifite, Igboukwu and Uga on Dec 28, 2024; N16million (N8m each) paid at gunpoint by parents and other relatives of two siblings abducted on Dec 29, 2024 in the area and not less than N25m paid by relatives and associates of four others abducted same day in the area.
On Jan 16, 2025, another indigene of the area was abducted and released the next day after millions of naira found in his account was transferred out at gunpoint. On Dec 28, 2024, not less than five indigenes of Achina were targeted and abducted at a relaxation joint located between Amesi and Umuchu and held captive in kidnappers’ den for several days until their relatives and associates coughed out tens of millions of naira for their release. Elsewhere around Urum part of the State, a Reverend Father was abducted and later freed after his friends and associates paid N20million, during which a man who was held with him paid N10.3m. A United Kingdom-based businessman was abducted on Jan 10, 2025, at Amaokpala in Orumba North of Anambra State. He had returned for funeral service of his cousin and was freed after three days on payment of undisclosed millions of naira. Before then, a lady banker was abducted on Dec 13, 2024, and held for days, and later killed and dumped by her captors along a popular roadside after sources said her abductors collected N25million ransom and went ahead to kill her. There were also two Catholic nuns abducted on Tuesday, Jan 7, 2025, along Ufuma Road in Orumba North, and freed six days after, but it was unclear if ransoms were paid before they were released. These are just to mention but a few.

Kidnappers in the South-East also made Imo State the second worst hit State in twenty days of Dec 28, 2024 and January 18, 2025, during which not less than N150million was seized from kidnap victims at gunpoint; followed by Enugu State with estimated N100million including tens of millions of naira strongly believed to have been seized by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen from freed victims of three 18-Seater busloads of passengers abducted at Enugu-Ezike in Igbo Eze North of Enugu State on Thursday, Jan 9, 2025 involving at least 40 passengers. The passengers were traveling to Kogi and nearby northern parts when they were abducted and held for days by the Jihadists during which their mobile phones and other valuables were seized and dispossessed; and all the monies in their accounts transferred out. Parents and associates of some of the victims were also believed to have hurriedly transferred tens of millions of naira to have their loved ones freed.

Abia and Ebonyi States also grappled with kidnap-for-ransom particularly along their highways, urban centers and farmlands by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen, communal warlords and allied others; accounting for not less than N100million under 20 days of December 28, 2024, and January 18, 2025. In all, nothing less than N600million was lost to Jihadist kidnappers and others drawn from Counterfeit Biafra Agitators and “street criminal entities” thriving in kidnapping syndicates in 20 days of December 28, 2024, and January 18, 2025. Generally, nothing less than N1.2billion was most likely to have been lost to kidnappers by defenseless South-Easterners in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025 in the Region.

180 Defenseless Civilians Killed In Two Months (Dec 2024 And Jan 2025)

By our findings derived from our December 22, 2024, Special International Report (“Ocean Of Innocent Blood Flowing In Eastern Nigeria”: 282 Pages, not less than 180 defenseless citizens of the South-East were attacked and killed in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025. The breakdown shows that armed non-state actors took responsibility for at least 140 defenseless civilian deaths; during which Imo State was the worst hit with not less than 70 deaths, followed by Anambra with at least 40 deaths and Enugu, Abia and Ebonyi accounting for the remaining 30 deaths. Among the not less than seventy defenseless civilian deaths recorded in the hands of armed non-state actors in Imo State, at least 45 including women and children were killed in four communities in Orsu Local Government Area where many of them were mowed down and inflicted with savagely matchet cuts and gun attacks.

Their gruesome murder had taken place between Jan 5 and 8, 2025, during which, according to eyewitnesses spoken to by the Intersociety, eighteen defenseless persons including women and children were mowed down in Ihitenansa, eight in Eziawa, nine in Umuhu-Okabia, six in Ebenato and one person in Awo-Idemmili. The killings have since continued including killing of at least two persons on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, in Orsu-Ihiteukwa part of the Local Government Area. In Anambra State, the not less than 40 killed included at least ten in Ihiala on December 30, 2024; during which a Reverend Father was days earlier shot and killed in the area. A female banker was also among those killed in the State during the period as well as scores of others abducted by kidnappers and killed in their dens.

The security forces including military personnel, police crack squads and sub-state actor killer vigilantes accounted for not less than 40 civilian deaths across the South-East during the period. The 40 civilian deaths in the hands of the security forces represented those killed outside the law or due process and their killings ‘weaponized’ to justify their atrocious killing. Among them are not less than eight recently killed in Imo State by police crack squads and another eight killed by the Anambra Vigilante Service on Tuesday, Jan 28, 2025 in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State; in addition to scores of others abducted by military personnel and police crack squads who are unlikely to come back alive.

200 Defenseless Civilians Abducted In December 2024 And January 2025:

The Nigerian Security Forces (military personnel, police crack squads and sub-state actor killer vigilantes), the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and allied others, ‘Street Violent Criminal Entities’ and armed Counterfeit Biafra Agitators have separately been responsible for abduction of no fewer than 200 members of the South-East civilian population across the Region in the past two of December 2024 and January 2025; out of which about 160 were abducted by armed non-state actors and 40 others abducted and taken to unknown destinations outside the knowledge of their families and official records. Many of the 40 security forces abductees were those taken away outside the law by military personnel while the remaining ones got missing in the hands of police crack squads. It must be clarified that killing members of civilian population or unarmed citizens suspected to have offended criminal law, before or after their arrest is a serious criminal offense in Nigeria and under international law. Weaponization of crime detection and law enforcement operations is also a serious criminal offense; likewise, killings involving sub-state actor vigilantes disempowered by law to kill, detain, investigate and prosecute. Arresting civilian citizens and taking them away without the knowledge of their families and outside official records clearly amount to enforced disappearances which could lead to extrajudicial, extra jus and extralegal executions.

Further, the breakdown of the abduction of estimated 160 defenseless civilians of the South-East Trado-Judeo-Christian faith and extraction by armed non-state actors across the South-East in the past two months of December 2024 and January 2025 included estimated 60 abducted in Anambra State, 50 abducted in Imo State, 40 abducted in Enugu State and the rest abducted in other parts of the South-East. Also observed was the fact that more than 95% of the 160 abductees by armed non-state actors were forced to pay ransoms through their relatives, friends and associates. In Anambra State where at least 60 were abducted, Aguata, Orumba North and Orumba South accounted for not less than 30 including a retired Anglican Bishop, two Catholic nuns, seven persons abducted between Ezinifite, Igboukwu and Uga, six persons abducted between Amesi and Umuchu, one abducted at Amaokpala, etc. Imo State with not less than 50 abductees included those abducted for ransom along the State’s highways and its troubled local government areas and communities. In Enugu State with at least 40 abductees, the most noticeable was the abduction on January 13, 2025 of at least 40 travelers by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in Enugu-Ezike part of the Igbo Eze Local Government Area.
There is likelihood of others representing “dark figures of crime” involving unrecorded victims abducted by Jihadists and other criminal entities on their way to 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year holidays or while returning back from to their bases from the same particularly along the highways. Other victims were those recorded in the remaining parts of the South-East especially along their highways.

Signed:
For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety)

Emeka Umeagbalasi, M.Sc.
Criminologist and Graduate of Security Studies

Board Chair, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Chinwe Umeche Esquire (LL. B, BL)

Head, Democracy and Good Governance Program

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire (LL. B, BL)

Head, Campaign and Publicity

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire (LL. B, BL)

Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Digital Contacts:

Mobile/WhatsApp Lines: +2348174090052

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://intersociety-ng.org

Further References:

1. Digital Link To Our Mother Report: “Ocean Of Innocent Flowing In Eastern Nigeria”:https://intersociety-ng.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NIGERIA-OCEAN-OF-INNOCENT-BLOOD-FLOWING-IN-THE-EAST-oringinal_11zon.pdf

2. Digital Link To The Executive Summary Of “Ocean Of Innocent Blood Flowing In Eastern Nigeria”:https://intersociety-ng.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Executive-Summary-Of-Ocean-Of-Innocent-Blood-Flowing-In-The-East.pdf

3. Digital Link To Our Human Rights Handbook: “Human Rights Made In Nigeria”:https://intersociety-ng.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/HUMAN-RIGHT-MADE-IN-NIGERIE_compressed.pdf

4. Digital Link To The International Joint Solidarity Statement By 27 International Human Rights Experts And Other Respected Persons/Groups Backing The Reports: