A new report by human rights organisation, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has alleged that fear of military abuses in the South-east is discouraging families from allowing their children to enlist in the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The report, released yesterday in Enugu in collaboration with the United States-based Ekwenche Research Institute, claimed that “tens of thousands” of families in the region had withdrawn their sons and daughters of military recruitment age and those with academic and professional qualifications from joining the Armed Forces.
According to the report, which was signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Head of Intersociety Nigeria, Prof Justin Akujieze President and Chairman of the Board, Ekwenche Research Institute among others, the development was largely driven by fears arising from alleged mass arrests, disappearances and extrajudicial killings of civilians during security operations in the region.
“More than 6,000 South-east families were still searching for relatives who had gone missing between January 2021 and July 2026, with about 70 per cent of the alleged cases attributed to the military, 20 per cent to police crack squads and 10 per cent to the State Security Service, “the report claimed.
The report further alleged that many of those arrested or abducted were transferred to military detention facilities outside the region, particularly the Wawa Military Cantonment in Niger State. It also claimed that some people arrested alive were subsequently killed extrajudicially or disappeared in custody, while families were allegedly denied information about their whereabouts.
“Over 5,000 people arrested during security crackdowns on pro-Biafra self-determination protests between August 2015 and December 2019 had never been traced alive or dead by their families or lawyers,”the report said.
The organizations called on the Federal Government to publish comprehensive records of people arrested during security operations in the South-east, including their identities, dates and places of arrest, alleged offences, detention locations and current legal status while also calling for an independent investigation into alleged killings, enforced disappearances, torture and prolonged detention in the region.
Gideon Arinze
Follow us on:
