Gunmen blocked a highway in Nigeria’s southeastern Imo state this week, killing at least three people and wounding several more, police said Saturday, while Amnesty International placed the toll at 30.
Police blamed the attack on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) independence movement, which wants a separate state for the ethnic Igbo people in southeast Nigeria.
Imo state police spokesman Henry Okoye told AFP that at around 5:00 am (0400 GMT) on Thursday suspected IPOB members came out “in numbers” and blocked the Owerri-Okigwe highway before firing “sporadically.”
He said the gunmen fired on “commuters on the road and they were able to set some vehicles ablaze and killed some innocent individuals.
“For now three persons have been confirmed dead,” he added.
Amnesty International said on X that 30 people had died, adding that attackers had burned at least 20 commuter vehicles and trucks.
Police called the human rights group’s report “sensationalising.”
Amnesty director for Nigeria Isa Sanusi told AFP its toll was based on reports from sources at the scene and hospitals.
The Red Cross in Imo state said “preliminary reports indicate significant human casualties, however total number of deaths is yet to be confirmed.”
“More than 20 vehicles were destroyed, and the incident has raised tensions across surrounding communities, leading to restricted movement and growing fear of further violence,” said a Red Cross incident report seen by AFP.
One Suspect Arrested
Police said the gunmen had engaged in a gun battle with law enforcement in which one suspect was killed and another arrested.
These are “miscreants who are masquerading under the umbrella of freedom fighting, perpetrating all kinds of dastardly acts, including senseless killing. They are just pure terrorists,” police said.
The attack occurred on the same day President Bola Tinubu was visiting the neighboring state of Anambra to launch infrastructure projects.
The IPOB group routinely denies it is behind attacks, which have also been carried out by criminal gangs and political rivals using the group’s name.
Former London estate agent and IPOB founder Nnamdi Kanu is on trial on terrorism charges in the capital Abuja.
Amnesty called for an “effective investigation” into the attack and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
“The co-ordinated attack on travellers along Okigwe-Owerri road shows consistent failure of the Nigerian authorities to address the crisis lingering in southeast Nigeria,” Sanusi told AFP.
