180 Killed, N21.8 Billion Extorted in South-East Within Two Months – Intersociety Alleges

A civil rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has accused security agencies and non-state actors of killing at least 180 people and extorting over N21.8 billion from residents of the South-East between December 2024 and January 2025.

In a statement released on Thursday, Intersociety alleged that killings, abductions, and disappearances were rampant during the holiday period, with security forces and criminal groups exploiting the festive season to extort and seize billions of Naira from the populace. The statement was signed by Intersociety Board Chair, Emeka Umeagbalasi, alongside other senior members of the organization.

According to the group, police and military operatives at roadblocks and barracks extorted N21.8 billion within the two-month period, with the police allegedly taking N15 billion and the military N6.8 billion. Some of the most “lucrative” checkpoints in the region, it claimed, included the Uga Junction and Atani Road naval checkpoints, where security operatives reportedly pocketed N600 million within two months.

The report also pointed to widespread kidnappings, stating that armed groups collected N600 million in ransom from abducted victims between December 28 and January 18, bringing the total extorted through kidnappings to an estimated N1.2 billion over two months. The group further claimed that 180 civilians were killed, with 140 deaths attributed to armed non-state actors, while 40 were allegedly extrajudicially executed by security forces and vigilante groups.

Intersociety accused security agencies of running an extensive extortion network, with at least 300 direct military roadblocks and 500 indirect checkpoints set up across the region. It claimed that each military checkpoint illegally collected an average of N100,000 daily, translating to N80 million daily from 800 military checkpoints and patrol teams, totaling N4.8 billion in two months. An additional N2 billion was reportedly extorted through barracks-related activities.

The report singled out the Nigerian Navy’s Ogbaru Base in Anambra as a major hub for extortion, claiming that personnel at the Uga Junction and Atani Road checkpoints allegedly collected N1 million daily, amounting to at least N600 million within the period under review.

Similarly, Intersociety accused the police of running an even larger extortion network, allegedly raking in N15 billion over two months. It provided a breakdown of estimated illicit collections across different states: Imo State allegedly led with N2.94 billion, followed by Anambra with N2.52 billion, Abia with N2.1 billion, Enugu with N1.68 billion, and Ebonyi with N1.26 billion.

The report also detailed kidnappings, alleging that victims were forced to pay N600 million in ransom over 20 days and N1.2 billion in total over the two-month period.

Intersociety based its findings on research and investigations compiled in its December 22, 2024, special report titled Ocean of Innocent Blood Flowing in Eastern Nigeria. It cited Section 108 of the Armed Forces Act of 2004, which prescribes a 14-year jail term for military personnel found guilty of extortion, yet claimed such laws were not being enforced.

Despite the gravity of these allegations, neither the Nigerian police nor the military has responded. This is not the first time Intersociety has accused security agencies of large-scale extortion and human rights abuses in the South-East.