Government forces killed at least 82 civilians in separate raids in Imo, southeast Nigeria, the Southern Youth Forum (SYF) said.
Dezia Kue, spokesperson for the socio-political group, told Gazette Africa that the incident occurred in May and June 2021 during raids which he described as “silent genocide”.
In April 2021, the Nigerian federal government deployed more troops and military equipment to Imo State, following a series of attacks on police facilities and officers by unidentified gunmen.
A local vigilante group, Eastern Security Network (ESN) and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group that advocates secession from the eastern region of the country, have been accused of the attacks. The group and some statesmen in the region have repeatedly refuted the allegations, saying that the group is nonviolent.
There is a genocide going on in Imo as we speak. Most worrying is that youths and women are being arrested, killed and tagged unknown gunmen. They frame-up most of them just to justify the murder,” Kue told Gazette Africa in an interview on Tuesday.
He said: “They (the federal government) are shouting ‘insecurity in the southeast’ while they are responsible for the alleged insecurity.
If they are really looking for unknown gunmen, why not confront them during the attacks, rather than going from village to village and house to house killing innocent civilians?
“As we speak, at least 82 civilians, including women, have died in the ongoing silent genocide perpetrated in Imo by the Nigerian army and police.
The truth is that a silent genocide is currently taking place under the pretext of fighting crime, the media are not talking about it because the victims are Igbo people often seen as enemies of the country.”
The SYF spokesperson also called on the government to end military attacks and rights violations in the east of the country.
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