By Ben Ezeamalu
LAGOS (Reuters) -A sit-at-home order by banned separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra in Nigeria’s southeast has led to the death of over 700 people in the region over the past four years, an intelligence consultancy said in a new report.
The IPOB, campaigning for the secession of the southeast that is predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group, has been labelled a terrorist organisation by Nigerian authorities.
SBM Intelligence reported that the fatalities resulted from the killing of civilians who defied the weekly stay-at-home order every Monday and on other specific days, as well as from clashes between the IPOB and Nigerian security forces.
“IPOB’s enforcement tactics, including arson, looting and targeted assassinations, have created a climate of fear,” the SBM report said.
“While there was a high rate of compliance with sit-at-home orders in 2021 (82.61%), surveys reveal that actual support is much lower (29%) now, with many complying under duress.”
An IPOB spokesperson denied the group was responsible for the deaths.
“Those causing the killings are the kidnappers and criminals recruited by government to blackmail and demonize IPOB,” the spokesperson said.
The government did not respond to a request for comment.
The IPOB launched the sit-at-home protest in August 2021 across the five states of Nigeria’s southeast, using it as leverage to demand the release of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing trial in the capital Abuja on terrorism charges.
The group suspended the weekly protest days later, citing a “direct order” from Kanu, who has been in custody since 2021, and reinstated it only on days the IPOB leader would be appearing in court.
However, other armed groups claiming allegiance to IPOB and factions within the group have persisted in enforcing the weekly protest, launching attacks on government facilities and perceived pro-government individuals.
Despite IPOB’s attempts to disassociate itself from the region’s violence, the police have accused the group of involvement in several incidents, including a 2021 attack on a prison and the murder of over 30 travellers earlier this month.
The IPOB denied responsibility for those two attacks.
The SBM report added that beyond the deaths, the sit-at-home order, which suspends economic activities in the southeast every Monday and on days when Kanu appears in court, has resulted in economic losses surpassing 7.6 trillion naira ($4.79 billion).
Civil war engulfed the restive Biafra region in the late 1960s, killing more than 1 million people.
($1 = 1,598.5100 naira)
(Reporting by Ben Ezeamalu; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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