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At a time religious freedom in Nigeria has become a key issue for discussion at the global stage, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has released another damning report detailing what it described as “shocking and heartbreaking discoveries” of systematic attacks and mass killings in parts of Enugu State allegedly carried out by jihadist Fulani militants over the last four years.

According to the extensive documentation made public in Enugu, Intersociety alleged that between May 2021 and June 2025, no fewer than 117 worshippers belonging to fourteen church parishes—twelve Anglican and two Catholic—were massacred in Eha-Amufu area of Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of the state, with hundreds of others wounded, abducted, or displaced.

The report further accused security agencies and state authorities of turning a blind eye to the atrocities while persecuting victims, church volunteers, and local youths who tried to assist the affected communities.

‘The Churches Were Sacked, Communities Deserted’

Intersociety’s founder and Board Chairman, Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi, a criminologist and international fellow of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Program, said the organization’s research revealed that the affected communities have been “silenced and abandoned” following repeated attacks that left their villages in ruins.

In a statement jointly signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Criminologist & Researcher; Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq, Head of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law; Ogochukwu Obi, Esq, Deputy Head of International Justice and Human Rights; and Comrade Samuel Kamanyaoku, Head of Field Data & Documentation, InterSociety listed the churches affected to include St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Ogbete (40 killed); Holy Anglican Church, Okpokwu, Mgbuji (25 killed); St. Barnabas’ Anglican Church, Ngele-Aguiyi (4 killed); St. Michael’s and All Angels’ Catholic Church, Okpurigwu (2 killed); and St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Ikpakpara (20 killed) among others.

“These were not isolated incidents,” Umeagbalasi said. “They were coordinated jihadist attacks on Christian worshippers and their communities, intended to displace, terrorize, and occupy indigenous Igbo lands under the protection of the Nigerian security establishment.”

The attacks, he said, were characterized by brutal killings, abductions, and the burning of churches, homes, farmlands, and markets, particularly at Orie Aguamede, Abor, and Mgbuji, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

‘Bodies Buried Inside Church Compounds’

In one of the most gruesome accounts, Intersociety quoted a senior Anglican priest in Ogbete, Eha-Amufu, who narrated how eight decomposing bodies of parishioners were retrieved and buried inside the church compound in January 2022 following a massacre that claimed over 40 lives.

“Many were abducted into the forests and slaughtered. Some were never found. We retrieved the corpses days later. Eight decomposing bodies were buried in one day,” the priest said.

He further alleged that helicopters—believed to be aiding the attackers—were sighted hovering over the forests and dropping unidentified objects suspected to be weapons. “Each time the helicopter appeared, our people panicked because it always preceded an attack,” the clergyman said.

Security Agencies Accused of Complicity, Silence

The group accused security agencies, particularly the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, of “complicity through silence and selective response.”

According to testimonies documented by Intersociety, soldiers often refused to respond to distress calls during attacks, only appearing days later to help retrieve decomposing bodies.

“From May 2021 to December 2024, no single church service was held in most of the affected areas. Only a few resumed under heavy military surveillance in 2025, and even those services were short-lived as parishioners fled immediately afterward,” the report stated.

Intersociety claimed that instead of protecting victims, soldiers and police operatives reportedly arrested and detained local church volunteers and youths assisting in recovery efforts.

At least ten local volunteers were allegedly arrested in May 2024 by anti-kidnapping squads of the Enugu State Police Command. The detainees were accused of “spreading fake news” and “collaborating with unknown gunmen.”

“They were tortured, forced to delete photos and videos from their phones, and barred from speaking to the media about the attacks,” the statement said.

‘Jihadist Occupation Across 950 Locations in the South-East’

Citing its long-term field research, Intersociety warned that the South-East region has come under “systematic jihadist infiltration and occupation.”

The organization said it identified not less than 950 forest locations across the five southeastern states allegedly occupied or threatened by armed jihadist herdsmen, spreading across 800 of the region’s 1,940 autonomous communities.

According to its records, the infiltration began with about 10 Fulani militant camps in 2018, rose to 139 by 2019, 350 by early 2020, and nearly 950 by 2025, with Enugu State accounting for about 56 of such settlements.

“These jihadist Fulani militants have been terrorizing, abducting, and killing Christians, looting their homes, and desecrating their places of worship. Yet, the governors of the region continue to deny their presence,” Umeagbalasi said.

Governors Accused of Denial and Cover-Up

The group accused the five South-East governors—Peter Mbah (Enugu), Charles Soludo (Anambra), Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), and Alex Otti (Abia)—of “deliberate denial and suppression of the truth” regarding the rising insecurity in the region.

InterSociety’s Umeagbalasi specifically faulted Anambra Governor Charles Soludo for his public statement claiming that “Christians are killing Christians in the South-East forests and not killer herdsmen.”

“I personally worked for Governor Soludo’s re-election,” Umeagbalasi revealed, “but I totally disagree with him on that statement. It is false, dangerous, and dismissive of the reality on the ground.”

Attack Foiled in Ezeagu

The report also cited a recent attack on Friday, November 7, 2025, near Nkwo-Ezeagu Market Square, along the Onitsha–Awka–Oji River–Enugu highway, where suspected jihadist militants reportedly ambushed two commercial buses.

According to eyewitnesses, the attack was averted when a DSS and Police escort convoy accompanying a top political office holder intervened, engaging the attackers in a gun duel that forced them to retreat into the forest.

Call for Accountability and International Intervention

Intersociety condemned what it described as the “total collapse of state and security responsibility” in protecting citizens in the South-East.

It demanded that the Nigerian Federal Government and international human rights bodies launch independent investigations into the killings, with a view to holding accountable those responsible for the massacres and for suppressing the truth.

The group also welcomed the recent resignation of the BBC Director General, Tim Davie, and its News CEO, Deborah Turness, over alleged “systemic bias,” calling for the “dismantling and reorganization of BBC-Africa and its Global Disinformation Unit” for their failure to adequately report religious persecution in Nigeria.

The Intersociety latest report paints a grim picture of unchecked violence, government denial, and a growing humanitarian crisis in rural Enugu communities.

“Entire parishes have become graveyards, farmlands have been abandoned, and Christian worship has been silenced in parts of Eha-Amufu,” the group concluded. “Unless urgent action is taken, these atrocities will go down as one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s modern history.”

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