The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has raised alarm over what it describes as hidden detention facilities where Nigerian security agencies are allegedly holding Biafran activists incommunicado. The group expressed deep concern over the inhumane conditions, including human rights violations, torture, forced disappearances, and even organ trafficking, reportedly occurring within these centers.
According to a statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, some of the alleged secret detention sites include: Wawa Military Base; Kanji Dam detention center; DSS headquarters in Abuja; Intelligence Response Team (IRT) Abattoir in Abuja; Tiger Base Police detention in Owerri, Imo State; Goodluck Jonathan Army Barracks in Ohafia, Abia State; and Onitsha Army Barracks in Anambra State. Others mentioned were Naval Base Asaba, Delta State; SARS Awkuzu in Anambra; 82 Division Military Barracks in Enugu; and Kuje Prisons in Abuja, among several others.
IPOB urged individuals with missing relatives to search these facilities, fearing that many detainees may have been tortured or used in organ trafficking by the security forces.
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The statement further claimed that Ndigbo, the Igbo ethnic group, are disproportionately targeted by Nigerian authorities, being falsely accused of either belonging to IPOB, Eastern Security Network (ESN), or criminal activities like kidnapping. According to IPOB, while Igbo people suffer the most from this profiling, members of other ethnic groups are also reportedly detained in these clandestine prisons.
Emma Powerful referenced the disappearance of IPOB members during a peaceful rally in 2016 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, some of whom remain missing to this day. The rally, held during the inauguration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, saw several activists abducted by the Nigerian Army and Police. Eight years later, IPOB continues its search for those men and women.
