Latest news with #OkigweOwerri
Arab News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Amnesty International says at least 30 dead in separatist attack in southeastern Nigeria
ABUJA: At least 30 people have been killed after gunmen attacked travelers on a major highway in the southeastern part of Nigeria, rights group Amnesty International said. The rights group said more than 20 vehicles and trucks were set ablaze during the Thursday attack along the Okigwe-Owerri highway in Imo state. Police confirmed the attack but not the death toll. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police suspect the Eastern Security Network, the paramilitary wing of the proscribed separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra. The secessionist campaign in southeastern Nigeria dates back to when the short-lived Republic of Biafra fought and lost a civil war from 1967 to 1970 to become independent from the West African country. An estimated 1 million people died in the conflict, many from starvation. The rights group said 'international law requires the Nigerian government to promptly investigate unlawful killings with a view to bringing perpetrators to justice.' One suspect connected to the attack was killed in a joint operation by law enforcement agencies, police spokesperson Okoye Henry said in a statement. 'An intensive manhunt is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice,' Henry said. Two of the group's prominent leaders, Nnamdi Kanu and Simon Ekpa, are in custody in Nigeria and Finland, respectively. Kanu is standing trial on a seven-count charge bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Nigerian government said Friday it has not begun extradition proceedings but is in talks with Finnish authorities to ensure Ekpa is held accountable for his alleged actions. For many years Nigeria — Africa's most populous nation with at least 210 million people — has been wracked by violence related to the activities of armed extremist groups.
Washington Post
10-05-2025
- Washington Post
Amnesty International says at least 30 dead in separatist attack in southeastern Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 30 people have been killed after gunmen attacked travelers on a major highway in the southeastern part of Nigeria, rights group Amnesty International said. The rights group said Friday that more than 20 vehicles and trucks were set ablaze during the Thursday attack along the Okigwe-Owerri highway in Imo state. Police confirmed the attack but not the death toll.
Associated Press
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Amnesty International says at least 30 dead in separatist attack in southeastern Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 30 people have been killed after gunmen attacked travelers on a major highway in the southeastern part of Nigeria, rights group Amnesty International said. The rights group said Friday that more than 20 vehicles and trucks were set ablaze during the Thursday attack along the Okigwe-Owerri highway in Imo state. Police confirmed the attack but not the death toll. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police suspect the Eastern Security Network, the paramilitary wing of the proscribed separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra. The secessionist campaign in southeastern Nigeria dates back to when the short-lived Republic of Biafra fought and lost a civil war from 1967 to 1970 to become independent from the West African country. An estimated 1 million people died in the conflict, many from starvation. The rights group said 'international law requires the Nigerian government to promptly investigate unlawful killings with a view to bringing perpetrators to justice.' One suspect connected to the attack was killed in a joint operation by law enforcement agencies, police spokesperson Okoye Henry said in a statement. 'An intensive manhunt is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice,' Henry said. Two of the group's prominent leaders, Nnamdi Kanu and Simon Ekpa, are in custody in Nigeria and Finland, respectively. Kanu is standing trial on a seven-count charge bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Nigerian government said Friday it has not begun extradition proceedings but is in talks with Finnish authorities to ensure Ekpa is held accountable for his alleged actions. For many years Nigeria — Africa's most populous nation with at least 210 million people — has been wracked by violence related to the activities of armed extremist groups.
Al Jazeera
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Gunmen kill 30 during ‘vicious' attack in southeast Nigeria: Rights group
At least 30 people were killed when gunmen attacked travellers in Nigeria's southeastern Imo State, according to Amnesty International. The human rights NGO reported on Friday that more than 20 commuter vehicles and trucks were set ablaze during a 'vicious attack' along the Okigwe-Owerri road the day before. The attackers are suspected of being members of the banned separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Amnesty said. 'The attack … shows callous disregard for the sanctity of life. The gunmen blocked Okigwe-Owerri highway and areas of Umuna in Onuimo LGA unleashed violence in an utter show of impunity,' Amnesty wrote on X. 'The Nigerian authorities must immediately and transparently investigate this attack and ensure that the actual perpetrators are brought to justice. International law requires the Nigerian government to promptly investigate unlawful killings to bring perpetrators to justice,' it added. Amnesty International strongly condemns the vicious attack on travelers yesterday 8 May 2025, along Okigwe-Owerri Road in Imo State, killing at least 30 people and burning over 20 commuter vehicles and trucks. — Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) May 9, 2025Imo police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, confirmed that the attack took place in the early hours of Thursday, but declined to comment on the death toll. On Friday, Okoye told the Reuters news agency that one of the assailants had been killed by the police. According to a police statement, the gunmen, operating in three groups, blocked the highway at 04:00 GMT and shot sporadically. 'A full-scale search and cordon operation is currently underway, with security operatives combing nearby forests and surrounding areas where the suspects are believed to be hiding,' the police said. Nigeria's Premium Times also reported that the police commissioner of Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, led a joint tactical team of security operatives to the scene. According to Danjuma, the joint security team comprised personnel from Nigeria's army, the police, and the State Security Service. The IPOB, which the Nigerian government has classed as an outlawed organisation, has been campaigning for the secession of southeastern Nigeria, where the majority of people belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Following the late 1960s civil war that engulfed the Biafra region, killing more than one million people, separatist groups have continued to push for an independent state from the southeast and in some parts of the south of Nigeria.
