More than 700 people have been killed in Nigeria’s southeast over the past four years due to a sit-at-home campaign by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an intelligence consultancy report said on Monday.
The IPOB, which is pushing for the secession of the mainly Igbo region, has been labeled a terrorist group by Nigerian authorities. According to SBM Intelligence, fatalities have resulted from attacks on civilians defying the weekly Monday sit-at-home order and clashes between IPOB members and security forces.
The report noted that IPOB’s methods—arson, looting, and assassinations—have created an atmosphere of fear. While 82.61% of people complied with the order in 2021, actual support has since dropped to 29%, with many saying they comply out of fear.
IPOB has denied responsibility, blaming government-recruited criminals for the violence. The government did not respond to a request for comment.
The sit-at-home campaign began in August 2021, intended to pressure for the release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, who is in detention and facing terrorism charges. Although IPOB suspended the weekly order shortly after it began, various armed factions have continued to enforce it, attacking government buildings and perceived loyalists.
Authorities have accused IPOB of orchestrating other violent acts, including a 2021 prison break and the murder of over 30 travellers earlier this month—allegations IPOB denies.
The SBM report also said the protest has had a devastating economic impact, with estimated losses exceeding 7.6 trillion naira ($4.79 billion).
The region of Biafra fought a brutal civil war in the late 1960s that claimed over 1 million lives.