The Nigerian Army is under intense scrutiny following damning allegations of illegal arrests, torture, and false incrimination of young men in the Southeast, particularly in connection with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
A growing number of reports suggest that security forces have been involved in human rights abuses, including extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and brutal torture, while attempting to quell unrest in the region.
One of the alleged victims, who spoke to SaharaReporters under the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal, narrated his harrowing experience of torture and false labeling at the hands of the military.
According to him, he was arrested in 2021 while lodging at a hotel in Orlu, Imo State, where soldiers conducted a raid and indiscriminately detained those present.
“I was working with my boss and staying at a hotel in Orlu when soldiers stormed the place. They arrested me and others, claiming we were IPOB members,” he recalled.
The ordeal took a sinister turn when the Nigerian Army allegedly staged a press conference, parading the detainees as criminals.
“They displayed IPOB flags, put guns and weed in front of us, and called the media to witness it. None of those things belonged to me, yet they accused us of being armed militants,” he said.
The victim, who spent one month in military custody, described the conditions as inhumane, marked by severe starvation and brutal torture.
“We were tortured, though I was lucky not to suffer as much as others. But I left many people behind in that place, and I don’t know what became of them,” he revealed.
The emotional and psychological scars remain fresh.
“Even now, I don’t trust anyone. The pain of being falsely accused, paraded like a common criminal, and having your life shattered for something you didn’t do—it breaks you,” he added.
This latest accusation aligns with longstanding claims by IPOB that Igbo youths are being systematically profiled, detained, and tortured under the guise of combating separatist activities.
In September 2024, IPOB released a statement alleging that security agencies—including the Nigerian Police, DSS, and Army—were targeting innocent Igbos, branding them as either IPOB or Eastern Security Network (ESN) operatives or framing them as criminals.
“Ndigbo are the most targeted ethnic group in Nigeria today. They are being detained without trial, falsely accused of being IPOB or ESN members, or framed as kidnappers by security agencies,” the group claimed.
IPOB further alleged that the Nigerian security forces operate illegal detention centers, where abducted individuals are either tortured to death or trafficked in the organ black market.
“Detention facilities in Nigeria have become places where families search for missing loved ones, hoping they haven’t been killed or sold for their organs by corrupt security operatives,” IPOB’s statement read.
The group also referenced the 2016 abduction of IPOB members during a peaceful rally in Port Harcourt, noting that many of them remain unaccounted for eight years later.
Despite the gravity of the allegations, the Nigerian Army has yet to respond. SaharaReporters attempted to contact the Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyeama Nwachukwu, but he was unreachable.
With the Southeast already engulfed in violence, insecurity, and separatist tensions, these fresh accusations of state-sponsored brutality raise serious concerns about the human rights situation in the region.
As calls for accountability and justice grow louder, will the Nigerian Army address these allegations, or will impunity continue to reign?
PIONEER NEWS 