Amasiri Community Alleges Crimes Against Humanity Amidst Renewed Boundary Dispute
The Amasiri community in Nigeria’s Ebonyi State has lodged a formal petition with international and national human rights bodies, levelling grave accusations against Governor Francis Nwifuru. The community contends that the governor has committed crimes against humanity, engaged in abuse of power, and flagrantly violated citizens’ rights. These allegations stem from a resurfaced boundary dispute with the neighbouring Oso community in Edda.
The petition, formally submitted on February 9, 2026, by lawyer Idam Maduabuchi on behalf of the Amasiri people, has been dispatched to a formidable list of global and domestic authorities. Recipients include the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Amnesty International Nigeria, the National Human Rights Commission, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Nigerian National Assembly, and the National Security Adviser.
Allegations of Military Brutality and Collective Punishment
Central to the petition are harrowing accounts of a military operation allegedly ordered by Governor Nwifuru in Amasiri. The community claims that during this operation, soldiers engaged in extrajudicial killings, systematically destroyed homes, looted personal property, and confiscated ancestral artefacts. A particularly distressing accusation involves the shutdown of local schools, effectively preventing children from registering for and participating in crucial national examinations.
The Amasiri community characterizes these actions as a form of collective punishment, asserting that they were implemented without any prior investigation or a fair hearing for the accused.
A History of Inter-Community Conflict
The current crisis is rooted in a long-standing boundary dispute between the Amasiri and Oso communities. This conflict has historically been marked by cycles of retaliatory violence that have persisted across multiple generations.
While acknowledging reports of approximately four individuals allegedly killed in Oso, the Amasiri petition asserts that their community has consistently denied involvement in these specific incidents. They point to a history of their own multiple petitions filed with security agencies and the state government, detailing attacks they claim were perpetrated against their people.
The petition specifically references the reported killing of a retired Nigerian Army warrant officer and his wife on their farmland in March 2025. The Amasiri community holds the strong belief that members of the Oso community were responsible for this atrocity.
Further complicating the situation, the Amasiri community had previously initiated a civil legal action seeking a judicial determination of the disputed boundary. However, they later withdrew this case following assurances from the governor that he would personally intervene and resolve the matter.
Governor’s Response and Escalation of Military Action
According to the petition, following complaints from the Oso community regarding recent killings, Governor Nwifuru allegedly reacted by removing government appointees from Amasiri, including traditional rulers. Furthermore, schools were reportedly closed, and a directive was issued prohibiting any child from the Amasiri area from registering for national examinations within the state.
The military operations are alleged to have intensified thereafter. Security personnel are accused of razing ancestral homes, known as Ulogo, seizing sacred artefacts that had been preserved for decades, and causing destruction to property valued in the billions of naira.
The petition strongly argues that even if individuals from Amasiri were implicated in the alleged killings in Oso, criminal liability is a personal matter and cannot be justly attributed to an entire community. “No domestic or international law permits the punishment of civilians for unproven crimes,” the document firmly states.
Urgent Plea for Intervention and Justice
A particularly alarming allegation within the petition concerns a reported directive giving Amasiri a mere 72-hour ultimatum to recover the decapitated heads of the Oso victims, or face further military action. The petitioners describe this order as being capable of inflicting grave and irreparable harm.
The Amasiri community is urgently calling for intervention from the international and national bodies. They implore authorities to permit school children to resume their education and participate in national examinations without further hindrance.
Key demands include the immediate withdrawal of military personnel from Amasiri. The petition also calls for an impartial and thorough investigation to identify and prosecute all individuals responsible for the killings in Oso.
The petition formally requests that the International Criminal Court investigate alleged violations of Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute. Furthermore, it urges the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Canada to consider implementing visa restrictions against Governor Francis Nwifuru.
Attempts to obtain a reaction from the Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information, Ikeuwa Omebeh, on Friday proved unsuccessful. He initially promised a response on Saturday but later stated he was unavailable due to prior commitments.
