?Intersociety releases full details, berates South-East Governors

A total of 14 church parishes (12 of them Anglican and two Catholic) in Eha-Amufu area Of Isi-Uzo County of Enugu State ?were attacked and sacked by Jihadist Fulani militants in four years of May 2021 to June 2025, during which their 117 worshippers were massacred, hundreds of others slaughtered, homes and market stalls in their hundreds destroyed and deserted.?

This is according to an investigative report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety). Released in Enugu on Monday, November 10, 2025, the report was signed by Intersociety Head Emeka Umeagbalasi; Head, Dept. of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esquire; Deputy Head, Dept. of Int?l Justice and Human Rights, Ogochukwu Obi, Esquire; and Head, Field Data Collection and Documentation Department, Comrade Samuel Kamanyaoku. The report reads in full:

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (https://intersociety-ng.org), is armed again with shockingly discovered statistics showing that as Five South-East Governors have continued to engage in series of denials and suppression of facts by claiming that ?there are no killer Herders in the forests of the South-East?; especially Anambra Governor Charles Soludo?s ?Christians are killing Christians in South-East forests and not Fulani Herdsmen or killer herdsmen?; the South-East Region is dangerously under infiltration, saturation and occupation by Jihadist Fulani Militants, protected to occupy South-East forest locations numbering not less than 950 forest locations spread in about 800 of the Region?s 1,940 autonomous communities; to the extent that these Islamic Fulani Jihadists are frightening, terrorizing, abducting, killing, disappearing, extorting, harassing, brutalizing, dismembering, raping, ambushing, looting, sacking and wantonly destroying lives and properties across the Region on the grounds of religion; aimed at inflicting widespread fear among the entire Southeasterners including by having their territories conquered, occupied, displaced and Islamized. The Five South-East Governors who are not helping matters are: Peter Mbah of Enugu, Charles Soludo of Anambra, Hope Uzodinma of Imo, Francis Nwaifuru of Ebonyi and Alex Otti of Abia.

Shocking discoveries have therefore been made by Intersociety showing that dozens of churches have in the past four years of May 2021 to June 2024 been systematically targeted and attacked by Jihadist Fulani Militants in different parts of the South-East especially in Enugu State where not less than fourteen church parishes have been attacked, terrorized and sacked with their worshippers in their hundreds killed and several others seriously injured. Apart from forcing the affected churches to be shut down and deserted for years, the indigenes of the affected area have also been forced to flee and their defenseless communities abandoned and turned into ghost towns; with most of their Governors keeping sealed lips or suppressing public knowledge of the horrendous attacks including stopping them from local and international public knowledge and media attention.

14 Enugu Churches And Their 117 Worshippers Attacked And Massacred Since 2021: In May 2021, Holy Anglican Church in Okpokwu at Mgbuji (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo) was attacked by dozens of Jihadist Fulani Militants with terror weapons, killing 25 worshippers. In January 2022, coordinated attacks by Jihadist Fulani Militants also took place, affecting more than seven church parishes including six Anglican and a Catholic, during which over 55 worshippers were massacred. The affected parishes included (1) St Paul?s Anglican Church, Ogbete (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo: 40 killed), (2) St Luke?s Anglican Church, Mgbede (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo: no casualties), (3) St Barnabas? Anglican Church, Ngele-Aguiyi (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo: four killed), (4) St Michaels and All Angels? Catholic Church, Okpurigwu (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo: two killed), (5) Christ Church Anglican Church, Onumgbede (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo: no casualties), (6) an Anglican Church Parish at Obodoudo (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo: five killed) and (7) an Anglican Church Parish at Okpokwu, Aguamede (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo: four killed).

Other affected church parishes attacked, terrorized and sacked by Jihadist Fulani Militants are: (9) Church of Advent Anglican Church at Ememamaru (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo), attacked in January 2023, killing one worshipper, (10) All Saints Anglican Church at Onitsha-Ebia (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo), attacked in March 2024,killing one worshipper, (11) Christ Anglican Church at Amaofia (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo), attacked in May 2024, killing four worshippers, (12) Victory Anglican Church at Iyi-Asaa (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo), attacked in June 2025, killing two worshippers, (13) Our Savior Anglican Church at Iyi-Asaa (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo), attacked in June 2025, killing nine worshippers, (14) St Paul?s Catholic Church at Ikpakpara (Eha-Amufu in Isi-Uzo), attacked in June 2025, killing twenty worshippers. The number of worshippers killed by the Jihadists thereto totals no fewer than 117 persons in four years or from March 2021 to June 2025.

?How We Buried Eight Decomposing Bodies Of Our Parishioners Under One Day?: Corroborative findings by Intersociety showed that other defenseless indigenes of the area, in their several hundreds were also attacked and massacred by the Jihadists, to the extent that eight decomposing bodies of the parishioners of one of the parishes located in Ogbete, Eha-Amufu part of Isi-Uzo County of Enugu State were among those retrieved and buried inside the Church compound. In the coordinated jihadist attacks that took place in January 2022, not less than 40 members of the Parish were ambushed, attacked and slaughtered; during which many were abducted into nearby forests/farmlands and slaughtered, and their corpses made away with or dumped in different locations-from where they were retrieved days after by Church volunteers including the remains of the eight buried inside the Church compound in one day. The above was according to a Senior Anglican Priest pastoring one of the affected parishes whose account was corroborated by other eyewitnesses who wished not to be named for security and safety reasons. The Senior Anglican Priest, among others spoke to Intersociety researchers in Enugu on Nov 6, 2025.

?We Sensed Danger And Panicked Each Time Their Helicopter Hovered?: According to a Senior Anglican Priest spoken to, ?parishioners and other defenseless indigenes of the affected area always panic and sense danger each time helicopter belonging to the Jihadist Fulani Militants begins to hover around the area?. According to him, ?he personally sighted the helicopter not less than twice including in January 2022 when it was used in the massacre attack that killed not less than 55 parishioners belonging to Anglican and Catholic churches?. The helicopter, believed to be State-protected, was also sighted dropping suspicious objects including possibly offensive weapons inside their camps in Benue State from where the Jihadists launch their attacks including abducting defenseless Christian indigenes and marching them into the forests/vast farmlands where they are slaughtered or disappeared without traces; or instantly shot and killed or slaughtered on the spot, after which many of their corpses are taken away, never to be returned alive.

?Soldiers Followed Us To Retrieve Corpses But Declined When We Are Under Attack?:

Some church volunteers in the area who spoke to Intersociety also disclosed that soldiers under 82 Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu have severally refused to respond to their distress calls especially when they are under Jihadist attacks and only make themselves available by joining them to retrieve the decomposing or decomposed bodies of their parishioners slaughtered or killed. The above was also corroborated by a Senior Anglican Priest, heading one of the severely affected Anglican Church parishes, who further disclosed that most indigenes of the area have fled their communities and that from May 2021 to December 2024, no single church service was held in the area and skeletal church services in few of the affected parishes only returned this year (2025) and were conducted under the watchful eyes of the contracted soldiers who retreated after such services-forcing parishioners to also leave the area in panic. As it stands, according to the Senior Anglican Priest, ?about eight of the nine parishes under our episcopal jurisdiction are still shut down and deserted?. The area has a very large expanse fertile farmlands sharing boundaries with Benue State covering seven autonomous communities, with three being the worst hit: Mgbuji, Abor and Aguamede communities. Our investigators further gathered that the three worst hi are Anglican dominated while the rest belong to Catholics and Pentecostals and others.

?How Soldiers Sent By Enugu Government Arrested, Detained And Framed Us?: Scores of local youths including some Anglican church volunteers helping to assist the Church to retrieve the dead bodies belonging to the Congregation of the Church in the area; in addition to others assisting in gathering vital information and assisting the wounded victims of the coordinated Fulani Jihadist Militants? attacks, were part of those arrested by security operatives reportedly sent by Enugu Government including the anti-kidnapping squads of the State Police Command; during which not less than ten of them were arrested in May 2024. The clamp down was reportedly part of attempts by state actors involved to change the narratives including sustaining Government denials over the coordinated jihadist attacks in the area by Jihadist Fulani Militants operating from their camps or locations in neighboring Benue State.

Some of the terrified victims of such crackdowns who managed to speak to our team, strictly, on condition of anonymity; disclosed to Intersociety that they were arrested through the conspiracy of some local agents planted by Enugu Government who gave the Government their details including smartphone numbers and physical locations. One of them said he remembered vividly that his arrest came moments after he returned from a ?Night of Passover? program in one of the affected parishes on April 30 against the next day being 1st of May 2024-when he noticed that his house had been surrounded by soldiers reportedly sent by Enugu Government; from where he was whisked away and later dumped at the Kidnapping Unit of the State Police Command where he, alongside others, numbering about nine, were mercilessly tortured, falsely labeled, framed and detained for ten days and were accused of ?kidnappings, vandalism, looting of properties belonging to Enugu State Government?s smart schools under construction?. As if that was not enough, the detained victims said they were also bogusly accused of ?being the first suspects in a string of attacks by ?unknown gunmen? (Fulani Jihadists) in the area and for making inflammatory comments and spreading fake news and misinformation against Enugu Government?. The detained victims were released after ten days on May 10, 2025 and barred from sharing on social media information about the menace of Fulani Jihadists in their area or speaking to the media; in addition to deleting all stored information in their phones relating to the issue.

Apart from the slain 117 church worshippers, hundreds of others have also been massacred in the area since 2022 including a Dec 8, 2023 attack, killing more than twenty Abor rural Christian indigenes. Hundreds of homes, farmlands, market stalls including many stalls located at Orie Aguamede Market and others in Abor and Mgbuji were burned down or destroyed and their places deserted. Several cases of abduction of the slain bodies by the Jihadists were reported. Attempts by the locals to mobilize local youths to defend themselves and ancestral communities are also reported to have drawn immediate lethal and swift responses from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army who responded by clamping down on the said youths and their leaders; with many especially young males and females fleeing and abandoning their homes, churches, schools and farmlands-leaving the area to be turned into a ghost town. Many of roofs belonging to their churches and dwelling houses have also been left in a state of decay or in the hands of Jihadist Fulani vandals and looters.

Instead of the security agencies going after the Fulani Jihadists responsible for the attacks on the churches and their host communities, the local youths calling for Government intervention, with enough information on the massacre, were targeted, arrested, detained and framed; during which their smartphones were seized and stored information gathered from the incident scenes including photos and videos deleted or wiped out by the arresting and detaining authorities. Not only that the arrested and detained victims were severally and severely tortured and inflicted with external and internal injuries and fractures; such injuries have become terminal and refused to heal; forcing the victims to move from one specialist hospital to the other including the Onitsha Federal Medical Center. The worse of it is that till date, none of those Jihadist Fulani Militants responsible for the massacre, abductions and sacking of the sacred places of Christian worship has been apprehended and brought to justice by security agencies and their operatives in Enugu State.

Aversion Of Jihadist Herdsmen Killings And Abductions At Nkwo-Ezeagu In Enugu: What would have been a bloody day for dozens of Igbo-Christian travelers, traveling from Onitsha to Enugu using different commercial vehicles was averted on Friday, Nov 7, 2025, few meters away from Nkwo-Ezeagu Market Square in Ezeagu County of Enugu State. The scene is located along the Onitsha-Awka-Oji River-Ninth Mile-Enugu Expressway; during which the bloody attack was averted by a special escort manned by DSS and Special Police squad escorting a top political office holder. According to an eyewitness, a friend of Intersociety Boss, ?it all started when on getting to Nkwo-Ezeagu Market Square, a 14-seater Onitsha South Transport vehicle and another 18-seater white commercial bus fully loaded with passengers traveling to Enugu were chased and shot after by about six AK-47 Rifle wielding Jihadist Fulani Militants that emerged from nearby bushes who opened fire, targeting to ground the vehicles and abduct or kill the passengers; forcing the two vehicles to make an emergency U-turn and the oncoming others scampering for safety, from where they retreated and parked at Nkwo-Ezeagu Market Square. The stampede also forced a trailer lorry and a tipper lorry to be collided. Reieve came when the said security convoy also heading to Enugu State made an emergency stop and joined the stranded others at the Nkwo-Ezeagu Market Square, where they re-organized themselves and went in pursuit of the Jihadists, which resulted in gun duel or exchange of gunfire, forcing the Jihadists to retreat into the nearby bushes. Commendably, the security convoy returned and moved in long convoy with their boss and all the passengers and their vehicles until they safely and securely moved out of the scene. Some local market women also narrated how the Jihadists struck at ?MOPOL Junction? along the Expressway two days earlier, stating that attacks by the Jihadists in the area including killings and abductions have become a routine and nightmare to locals and travelers.

Previous Statistical Findings On Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen Infiltration Of Igbo Land:

Going by our June 2025 Special Report, South-East Region, with 1,940 Igbo communities including Abia State 771, Imo 700, Enugu 190, Anambra State 183 and Ebonyi State 96; compressed in 29, 525 square kilometers of landmass, three times lower than the landmass of North-Central?s Niger State, measuring 76,363 square kilometers. South-East was found to be home to about 10 jihadist Fulani settlement locations as of 2018, surprisingly increased to 139 in August 2019 involving: Enugu with about 56 locations, Anambra with 23, Imo with 17, Ebonyi with 12 and Abia with 7 jihadist Fulani occupation locations. By the first quarter of 2020, the number further increased to about 350 and doubled alarmingly to about 700 by April of 2021, after which the number continued to increase, hitting estimated 900-950 locations remotely located in about 800 of the South-East?s 1,940 autonomous communities and others found i ancestral Igbo parts of Delta, Edo, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, Rivers and Cross River States (https://intersociety-ng.org/research-and-investigative-discovery-of-950-locations-in-770-800-40-of-1940-igbo-communities-across-south-east-presently-under-occupation-or-threats-of-attack-by-armed-jihadist-fulani-herdsmen-and/)

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