The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has called for international criminal enquiries and indictments in Imo State over killings and burning of people's properties.
The group made the call on Sunday while addressing a world press conference in Enugu.
Flanked by the board of directors of the organisation, the chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi, alleged that no fewer than 1,600 unarmed citizens had been killed in Imo state in the last 29 months (January 2021-May 2023) by armed state actors (security forces) and armed non-state actors.
Giving a breakdown of the killings in a 36-page report, the group stated that the armed state actors killed 900 civilians while non-state actors killed 700 civilians.
Within the period under review, the rights group alleged that armed state actors wounded 700, arrested 3,500, extorted 1,400, made 300 disappear, burned down 1,200 civilian houses, displaced 30,000 persons and forced 500,000 citizens in the active age bracket to flee to escape being shot.
On the other hand, armed non-state actors were accused of being responsible for the killing of 700 civilians and the abduction of 900 others.
The rights group listed the state actors to include; the military, police and the Department of State Services (DSS).
The group identified armed eight non-state actors, including unknown gunmen (political death/killer squads allied with Ebubeagu militias and armed counterfeit agitators); unknown gunmen (armed political opposition, reprisal groups); Ebubeagu Militias; Jihadist Fulani herdsmen; Eastern Security Network; Armed Counterfeit Agitators; Private Armies (arising from violent private individuals counterfeiting Biafra agitators); and Violent Street Criminal Entities (armed robbers, kidnappers, illegal oil and solid mineral mining syndicates, etc).
Intersociety alleged that the violent killings and other vices identified spiked after the Supreme Court declaration of Senator Hope Uzodinma as governor of Imo in 2020.
"It is remembered that Imo State of Nigeria was thrown into political instability and socioeconomic deterioration including citizens' gross insecurity and other unsafe conditions; leading to the state becoming a killing field and Southeast becoming capital of political banditry since January 2021 or a period of 29 months (January 2021-May 2023)."
The group frowned on what it called class criminalisation and stigmatisation of Igbo youths and civilians by the armed security operatives, leading to arrests, disappearances and civilian house burnings in Imo state.
Intersociety said that it wants international criminal enquiries and indictments into Imo killings for the purpose of unmasking the identities of those that killed, abducted, disappeared, arbitrarily arrested/detained and tortured.
It vowed to also expose those who aided, abetted and omitted to act to stop the killings.
The rights group therefore specifically called on the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland and New York, USA to intervene by launching joint or separate investigations through the UNHCR's Special Rapporteurs generally charged with responsibilities of holding enquiries into "grisly and egregious human rights abuses and violations such as the case of Imo State".
The group blamed some of the killings on state actors on false labelling, failed intelligence and failed forensic criminal investigations.