Latest news with #southeastNigeria
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.
Free Malaysia Today
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Gunmen kill 30 travellers in Nigeria's unstable southeast
Civil war engulfed Nigeria's Biafra region in the late 1960s, killing more than a million people. (EPA Images pic) LAGOS : Gunmen shot dead at least 30 travellers in an attack in Nigeria's southeastern Imo state, Amnesty International said yesterday, raising fresh concerns about violence in a region rife with insecurity. More than 20 vehicles and trucks were set ablaze by the attackers, who were suspected to be members of the banned separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), Amnesty said in a post on X. Imo police spokesman Henry Okoye confirmed the attack occurred in Thursday's early hours, but declined comment on the number of fatalities. One of the assailants was killed by the police, Okoye told Reuters yesterday. A police statement said the gunmen, operating in three groups, barricaded the highway at about 4am and shot sporadically before setting vehicles ablaze. '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 in the statement. Ipob campaigns for the secession of southeastern Nigeria, where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Nigerian authorities have labelled Ipob a terrorist organisation. Civil war engulfed the Biafra region in the late 1960s, killing more than a million people. Thursday's attack coincided with a visit by president Bola Tinubu to the region, occurring in the same week that IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu appeared in federal court where he is facing trial on terrorism charges. Amnesty called on Nigerian authorities to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
