THIS DAWN — The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), a rights advocacy group based in Nigeria, has released a new report alleging that at least 14 church parishes in the Eha-Amufu area of Isi-Uzo Local Government in Enugu State were attacked and sacked by suspected armed militants between May 2021 and June 2025.
According to the group, the coordinated assaults targeted both Anglican and Catholic parishes.
The attacks resulted in the deaths of no fewer than 117 worshippers, with hundreds more injured or displaced.
The report claims that the attacks formed part of a broader pattern of violence across Nigeria’s South-East, carried out by terrorists believed to be “Jihadist Fulani militants”.
Intersociety said that the affected communities — including Mgbuji, Abor, and Aguamede — have been largely deserted, with farmlands and markets destroyed.
The group accused regional and federal authorities of “denial and suppression of facts” regarding the security situation in the South-East.
Details of Alleged Attacks
The report, signed by Intersociety’s chair, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and three other senior officials, listed individual church parishes said to have been attacked over a four-year period.
The group cited incidents at Holy Anglican Church, Okpokwu (May 2021, 25 killed), and St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Ogbete (January 2022, 40 killed), among others.
It said a total of 14 parishes — 12 Anglican and 2 Catholic — were affected.
Other incidents listed include attacks on St. Michael and All Angels Catholic Church, Okpurigwu (two killed), and St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Ikpakpara (20 killed) as recently as June 2025.
The group’s field researchers said they interviewed clergy and local residents, who reported retrieving decomposing bodies from church compounds and nearby farmlands.
One senior Anglican priest, speaking anonymously for security reasons, was quoted as saying eight parishioners were buried within church premises after a 2022 attack.
Claims of Security Lapses
Intersociety alleged that security forces deployed in the area failed to respond to distress calls during several of the attacks.
The group said troops from the Nigerian Army’s 82 Division in Enugu only appeared after the incidents to help retrieve bodies.
The report further accused state authorities of detaining local youths and church volunteers who attempted to document the violence.
According to the group, some of those arrested in 2024 were “tortured and falsely accused” of involvement in crimes.
It said the arrests were intended to silence witnesses and restrict public reporting of the incidents.
Nigerian military and police authorities have not yet commented on the allegations.
Past official statements have consistently denied claims of coordinated attacks by Fulani herders in the South-East.
Several governors, including Anambra’s Governor Charles Soludo, claimed that local conflicts were being misrepresented.
Governor Soludo even asserted that “Christians are killing Christians” in regional forests.
Reactions and Context
Intersociety’s chair, Umeagbalasi — a criminologist and U.S. State Department International Visitors’ Leadership Program fellow — said he disagreed with Soludo.
He argued that the group’s data show “systematic infiltration and occupation” of forest areas by armed militias.
The statement also referenced an alleged incident on November 7, 2025, in Ezeagu County, Enugu State.
It claimed that a suspected ambush on commercial vehicles was reportedly averted by a security convoy.
The account could not be independently verified.
Intersociety said its field investigations revealed that up to 950 forest locations across 800 South-East communities were “occupied or threatened” by armed groups since 2018, based on its ongoing monitoring.
The group called on the federal government and international partners to investigate the killings and ensure the protection of rural Christian communities.
Government and Church Response
Neither the Enugu State Government nor the Nigerian Army responded immediately to the new report.
Church authorities in Enugu have not issued official statements.
Some clerics interviewed by local media have, hwoever, confirmed disruptions to worship services and mass displacement in parts of Eha-Amufu.
Human-rights observers have called for independent verification of Intersociety’s claims.
Church attacks and communal violence have been reported in parts of Enugu and Benue border areas, though figures vary widely.
In the meantime, access for journalists and monitors remains limited due to high insecurity.
As of Monday evening, there were no reports of prosecutions or arrests linked to the alleged killings.
