KEY POINTS

• Thousands of families reportedly still seek missing relatives.
• Groups allege secret detention and poor treatment.
• They want a judicial inquiry into the cases.

Thousands of families in Nigeria’s South-East are still searching for relatives who allegedly disappeared after being arrested or taken away during security operations, according to a new report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) and the US-based Ekwenche Research Institute and Organisation.

The groups alleged that many of the missing families were arrested by the Nigerian military and other security agencies on claims that they were members or supporters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The organisations said many families have spent years trying to find out what happened to their relatives, with some unable to confirm whether they are still alive or have died.

According to the report, at least 6,000 families in the South-East have been unable to trace relatives who allegedly went missing between January 2021 and July 2026.

The organisations claimed that about 70 per cent of the cases involved people who allegedly disappeared after being arrested or taken into military custody.

They attributed another 20 per cent of the cases to the Nigeria Police Force and 10 per cent to the Department of State Services (DSS).

The groups said some of those arrested were allegedly moved from the South-East to military detention centres and other locations that were not disclosed to their families or lawyers.

One facility mentioned in the report is the Wawa Military Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State, which the organisations alleged has held a number of detainees from the South-East.

The report said the alleged disappearances did not begin in 2021. It claimed that about 5,000 other South-East residents had also remained unaccounted for after security operations linked to pro-Biafra protests between August 2015 and December 2019.

Based on the two periods, the organisations estimated that more than 11,000 people from the South-East may have gone missing between August 2015 and July 2026.

These figures are claims made by the organisations and were not independently verified in the report.

Families Allegedly Kept in the Dark

A major concern raised by the groups is the lack of information allegedly given to families about the whereabouts of detained relatives.

The organisations claimed that some people arrested in the South-East were transferred to detention facilities in northern Nigeria without their families or lawyers being properly informed.

They said such transfers make it difficult for relatives to know where their loved ones are being held or to seek legal help on their behalf.

The report also alleged that some detainees were kept away from their families for long periods and were denied proper access to lawyers.

The organisations said the situation has caused years of fear and uncertainty for families who do not know whether their relatives are alive, in prison or dead.

They called on security agencies to keep proper records of all arrests and transfers and to ensure that families and lawyers can obtain information about detainees.

Intersociety and the Ekwenche Research Institute also raised concerns about the conditions in which some detainees were allegedly held.

The organisations claimed that some people suffered from poor treatment, lack of medical care, hunger, disease and untreated injuries while in custody.

They further alleged that some detainees may have died in custody, although the report did not provide independent confirmation of the deaths of all those it referred to as missing.