May 2022 Anambra State killings

Last updated
May 2022 Anambra State killings
Part of the insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria
Nigeria - Anambra.svg
Anambra State in Nigeria
Date15 May 2022
22 May 2022
TargetPro-government officials, northern Nigerian civilians, commercial motorcycle riders
Attack type
Political assassination (15 May 2022)
Shooting, mass murder (22 May 2022)
Deaths14 [1]
PerpetratorPro-Biafra separatist militants (suspected IPOB members)
MotiveBiafran separatism (suspected)

In May 2022, militants reportedly associated with IPOB, a Biafran separatist group, murdered 14 civilians in a series of attacks in Anambra State. Among the victims were a pregnant woman as well as children. The killings were part of the insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

In January 2021, a separatist insurgency developed in southeastern Nigeria, mainly supported by local Igbo people. Security forces and armed separatists started to clash with increasing intensity over the following months. The most prominent separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), officially continued to claim that it intends to achieve the independence of Biafra through non-violent means. However, IPOB fields an armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, and has been blamed for many attacks in southeastern Nigeria. [1]

One of the main strategies used by local separatist militants are pro-Biafra protest sit-ins which are enforced through violence and intimidation. [1] These protests are partially aimed at pressuring the Nigerian government to free Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB. [3]

Killings

Okechukwu Okoye, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly was abducted with an aide on 15 May 2022. Okoye's head was found in a park in Nnewi South on 21 May. [4] [5] [6] The rest of his body and the corpse of his aide were later also recovered. [1]

On 22 May 2022, militants reportedly carried out two massacres. In the first incident, a Biafran separatist group ambushed Harira Jibril and her family. Born in Adamawa State, Jibril was an ethnic Hausa and resident in Orumba South. She had visited relatives and was on her way back to her home with a motorcycle taxi when the militants attacked at Isulo, Orumba North. Jibril -who was pregnant- and her four children aged two to nine were murdered, while their driver escaped. The family's corpses were later photographed and filmed, and published on Twitter with the killing being attributed to Jibril's northern origin. [7] [8] On the same day, five commercial motorcycle riders were murdered in Onocha, possibly due to refusing to comply with IPOB's order for civilians to stay at home. The body of one murdered motorcyclist was burned by the attackers. In addition, a roadside salesman was killed at Nnanka. [3] [7] The motorcycle riders and the salesman were also of northern Nigerian origin. [8]

Local police attributed the attacks to IPOB. [1] [9] IPOB denied any responsibility for the killings. [6]

Victims

Overall, 14 civilians were murdered during the attacks. [1] The following individuals were confirmed as being victims of the May 2022 Anambra State killings:

Aftermath

The May killings reportedly caused many individuals of northern origin, mostly Hausa, to leave their homes or close their shops in Anambra State. [3] [7] Alhaji Usman Abdullahi, the Hausa emir of Ihiala in Anambra went into exile. The murders, especially the deaths of Harira Jibril and her family, provoked outrage among northern Nigerians in social media. [9]

The Anambra State governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo put up a 10 million naira ($24,000) reward for information on Okechukwu Okoye's killers [4] and pledged that the murderers of Harira Jibril's family would be captured. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the attacks, calling them "wild, barbarous and wanton". [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biafra</span> Partially recognised country in West Africa (1967–1970)

Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group. Biafra was established on 30 May 1967 by Igbo military officer and Eastern Region governor C. Odumegwu Ojukwu under his presidency, following a series of ethnic tensions and military coups after Nigerian independence in 1960 that culminated in the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom. The Nigerian military proceeded in an attempt to reclaim the territory of Biafra, resulting in the start of the Nigerian Civil War. Biafra was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia while receiving de facto recognition and covert military support from France, Portugal, Israel, South Africa and Rhodesia. After nearly three years of war, during which around two million Biafran civilians died, President Ojukwu fled into exile in Ivory Coast as the Nigerian military approached the capital of Biafra. Philip Effiong became the second president of Biafra, and he oversaw the surrender of Biafran forces to Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anambra State</span> State of Nigeria

Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the South-eastern region of the country. The state was created on 27 August 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Rivers State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State to the north. The State's Capital is Awka, while the State’s Largest City is Onitsha which is regarded as one of the largest metropolis area in Africa. Nnewi is the second largest commercial and industrial city in Anambra State, and also a known automobile hub within Nigeria and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Igbo sentiment</span> Ideology

Anti-Igbo sentiment encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards the Igbo people. The Igbo people make up all of south-eastern Nigeria and a part of South-South and Middle Belt Nigeria's geopolitical zones. Igbophobia is observable in critical and hostile behaviour such as political and religious discrimination and violence towards the Igbo.

A series of massacres were committed against Igbo people and other people of southern Nigerian origin living in northern Nigeria starting in May 1966 and reaching a peak after 29 September 1966. Between 8,000 and 30,000 Igbos and easterners have been estimated to have been killed. A further 1 million Igbos fled the Northern Region into the East. In response to the killings some northerners were massacred in Port Harcourt and other eastern cities. These events led to the secession of the eastern Nigerian region and the declaration of the Republic of Biafra, which ultimately led to the Nigeria-Biafra war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nnamdi Kanu</span> British political activist

Nnamdi Okwu Kanu is a British political activist known for advocating for the secession and independence of Biafra from Nigeria. He is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which he founded in 2014. The main aim of IPOB is to restore the defunct separatist state of Biafra which existed in Nigeria's Eastern Region during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous People of Biafra</span> Separatist group in southeastern Nigeria

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a separatist group in Nigeria that aims to restore the defunct Republic of Biafra, a country which seceded from Nigeria in 1967 prior to the Nigerian Civil War and was subsequently dissolved following its defeat in 1970. Since 2021, IPOB and other Biafran separatist groups have been fighting a low-level guerilla conflict in southeastern Nigeria against the Nigerian government. The group was founded in 2012 by Nnamdi Kanu who has been the leader. and Uche Mefor, who served as the deputy leader.

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The 2016Niger Delta conflict is an ongoing conflict around the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in a bid for the secession of the region, which was a part of the breakaway state of Biafra. It follows on-and-off conflict in the Christian-dominated southern Niger Delta in the preceding years, as well as an insurgency in the Muslim-dominated northeast.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakassi conflict</span> Border conflict and separatist insurgencies in Cameroon

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The following is a list of events in 2021 in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria</span> Conflict in Nigeria (2021–present)

The insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria is a military conflict that broke out in the city of Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria on 16 January 2021, when the Nigerian Army moved to crush the paramilitary wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Eastern Security Network (ESN). The conflict escalated after the ESN managed to repulse the initial push by the Nigerian Army, but IPOB ended the initial crisis by unilaterally withdrawing the ESN from Orlu. After a few weeks of quiet, Nigeria launched a military offensive in the area to destroy the ESN. On 19 February 2021, IPOB declared that as of the day before, a state of war existed between Nigeria and Biafra. Three weeks later, another separatist group declared the formation of a Biafran interim government which was subsequently endorsed by IPOB. Since then, the Biafran separatists have begun to form alliances with other separatist groups in Nigeria and Cameroon. Despite these developments, the separatists claimed that their militant operations were mainly aimed at defending local communities from armed herders and bandits instead of fighting the Nigerian government. In late June, IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu was arrested by Interpol and handed over to Nigerian authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Security Network</span> Paramilitary organization in Nigeria

The Eastern Security Network (ESN) is the paramilitary organization of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a pro-Biafra separatist movement.

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Okechukwu Okoye was a Nigerian politician who was a member of Anambra State House of Assembly representing Aguata II constituency. He was kidnapped and killed during the May 2022 Anambra State killings. His head was found at Chisco park in Amichi community in Anambra, few days after he was kidnapped.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Emmanuel Akinwotu (30 May 2022). "Pro-Biafra militants accused of killing pregnant woman and children in Nigeria". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Adeuyi, Seun (25 May 2022). "Woman, 4 Kids Murdered By IPOB Buried In Anambra". daily trust.com. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
    Onyegbula, Esther (25 May 2022). "some murder of pregnant woman, 4 children in Anambra". Vanguardngr.com. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
    Sabi'u, Muhammad (25 May 2022). "CAN, Arewa Groups Condemn Killing Of Pregnant Woman, Four Children In Anambra". Tribuneonlineng.com. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
    "Pregnant woman, 4 children, 6 others killed in Anambra as IPOB terrorists target Northerners". dailynigerian.com. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
    "MURIC Condemns IPOB for Killing Muslim Northern Woman, Children in Anambra". Prnigeria.com. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
    Lawal, Nuruddeen (26 May 2022). "Names, Details of Woman, 4 Children Killed by IPOB Gunmen Revealed as They're Buried in Anambra". legit.ng.com. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
    Babatunde, Adedayo. "IPOB Allegedly Kills Woman, 4 Kids, 6 Other Northerners In Anambra". Independent.ng.
    Ibrahim, Aminu (24 May 2022). "Yan IPOB Sun Kashe Wata Mata Mai Juna Biyu, Yaranta 4 Da Wasu 'Yan Arewa 6 a Anambra" (in Hausa). legit.hausa.ng. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
    "Ƴan awaren IPOB. Abinda Buhari yace gameda kisan Jarirai Jibril da ƴaƴanta huɗu a jihar Anambra" (in Hausa). BBC Hausa.Com. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
    "Ina Cikin Wani Hali, An Kashe Matata Da Ciki Wata 9 Da Yara 4" —Mijin Matar Da IPOB Suka Kashe" (in Hausa). leadership.hausa.ng. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Many Vacate Anambra Communities As Terrorists Kill Mother, Children". 24 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Severed head of missing Nigerian lawmaker found in park, police say". CNN. Reuters.
  5. 1 2 3 "Anambra Assembly Condemns 'Barbaric Murder' Of Lawmaker, Tasks Soludo On Security".
  6. 1 2 3 "Anambra killing: President Buhari tok tough over killing for South East" (in Nigerian Pidgin). BBC Hausa. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ima Elijah (24 May 2022). "IPOB kills woman, 4 kids, 6 other northerners in Anambra". pulse.ng. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  8. 1 2 "IPOB kills woman, 4 kids, 6 other northerners in Anambra". Daily Trust. 24 May 2022.
  9. 1 2 "IPOB: 'Yan Najeriya sun fusata kan 'kisan mace mai ciki da ƴaƴa huɗu' a Anambra" (in Hausa). BBC Hausa. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
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