Global human rights body, the Amnesty International, has demanded immediate and unconditional release of an Igbo couple, Mr. Ifedi Sunday and his wife Calista, who the Nigerian military have held in detention at Wawa Barracks in Niger State since 2021 without trial.
Newsmen had reported that the couple is accused of being members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group advocating for the restoration of the Republic of Biafra.
The incident is part of a larger pattern of enforced disappearances and human rights abuses in Nigeria, particularly in the South-East region.
According to reports, hundreds of South-East residents, including elderly parents, young men, and women, have been abducted by Nigerian security forces, disappearing without a trace.
The relatives of the victims are left uncertain about their status, whereabouts, or even whether they are still alive.
Reacting to the report of their continued detention without trial, Amnesty International stressed that brazen disregard for national, regional and international human rights obligations by Nigerian authorities and security agencies must end.
The organisation said, “Amnesty International urges the Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release from unlawful detention: Sunday Ifedi and his wife Calista Ifedi.
![](https://legaldeskng.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LegaldeskNG-WhatsApp-Channels.jpg")
“This brazen disregard for national, regional and international human rights obligations must end.”
Amnesty International said that since 2016, it had documented hundreds of cases of unlawful detention in the southeast, as well as many cases of disappearance of persons after arrest by security forces. “This is an assault on the rule of law. Children of Sunday and Calista Ifedi have all dropped out of school and since 2021 have been deprived of contact with their parents.
“The authorities must, at all times and in all cases, comply with international human rights law and standards,” Amnesty International added.
Reports have emerged of Nigerian security agencies, particularly the military and Department of State Services (DSS), carrying out enforced disappearances in the South-East region.
These clandestine operations aim to suppress the agitation for Biafra restoration, which has escalated tensions in the region.
The situation has deteriorated into a war-like zone, with unknown gunmen targeting security checkpoints and formations, while the Nigerian Army has been accused of burning communities.
The enforced disappearances have raised concerns about human rights violations, with Amnesty International documenting several cases of mass arrests, torture, extortion, and extrajudicial executions by law enforcement officers responding to IPOB activities in the South-East and South-West.
Families of victims have been left in anguish, waiting for news of their loved ones.
