Some community leaders in the Lilu and Agwa communities in Anambra and Imo states, respectively, have lamented that grieving families are being forced to pay burial levies to gunmen who were also responsible for the killings of community members.

The leaders disclosed this on Thursday while speaking on the state of their communities at the relaunch of the Amnesty International report on extrajudicial killings in the South-East, held in Ikeja, Lagos State.

Speaking virtually at the event, the Palace Secretary of the Lilu community, Dr. Dominic Okoli, lamented that between 2020 and 2025, no fewer than 25 people were killed by gunmen, and no fewer than 30 houses were destroyed and looted.

He added that the recurring attacks had transformed the once-peaceful agrarian community into a shadow of its former self.

Okoli said, “Lilu has minimal government infrastructural presence, and Lilu seems only to be noticed during the election periods. Lilu has a lot of forestry, and unfortunately, our forests have become hideouts for the gunmen.

“Between 2020 and 2025, over 25 people were killed and kidnapped in Lilu alone, and the primary cause is the so-called gunmen, which some call unknown gunmen. During the same period, over 30 private and public houses have been destroyed and looted. The underlying thing is that, till today, not a single person has been held accountable.”

Okoli noted that due to the domination of the community by the gunmen, the area had now been described as “the Sambisa of the South-East.”

He lamented that the attacks had displaced the community’s access to healthcare facilities and forced children out of school, owing to their closure, while the gunmen had continued to impose tax on residents before they could bury dead relatives.

“We don’t have access to any health facilities. The little that we have before the insurgency has been totally decimated. Proportionally, Lilu has the highest number of out-of-school children (in the South-East) because our schools have been shut down since 2020.

“We can’t even bury our dead. Before you bury your dead (relative), you have to go and obtain permission from the unknown gunmen by paying them money. The money is not to conduct a funeral because they have banned us from conducting funerals.”

Also speaking, a community leader in the Agwa community in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, Nduka Ozor, corroborated that the community had been under the siege of gunmen who imposed burial levies on the residents, adding that the levy could be up to N500,000 in some cases.

He narrated that several killings were perpetrated by the gunmen, among which included the killing of his brother, the monarch of the community, and a pregnant lady.

“They are not unknown gunmen; they are known members of the community, and they carried out these killings without wearing masks. They are the boys we know.

“Properties worth over N1bn were destroyed, and over 60 people were brutally killed, and you don’t even know the reason why they killed them. You can go and bury your dead relative, but you have to pay the sum of N500,000 to obtain permission,” he added amid wailing.

He emphasised that the intervention of security agencies, religious leaders, and community leaders helped bring the situation under control.

Okoli and Ozor appealed to security agencies, the government, and other stakeholders to come to the aid of these communities.

In his remarks, the Country Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, disclosed that the number of individuals that has been killed unlawfully in South-East States could not be quantified.

He urged the Federal Government to undertake a thorough investigation into the alleged violence perpetrated by state and non-state actors and ensure the safety of lives and property in the region.

“The Nigerian authorities must uphold their constitutional and international human rights obligations by guaranteeing, protecting, and ensuring the rights to life, physical integrity, liberty, security, and safety of the people, and stemming the tide of rampant insecurity in the South-East region.

“Authorities must undertake prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigations into all allegations of violations and abuses committed by state and non-state actors in the region,” Sanusi concluded.

When contacted for a reaction, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, had yet to respond to an inquiry by our correspondent about the gunmen-imposed burial levies as of the time of filing this report.

Killings in the South-East have continued to raise concerns among stakeholders and experts alike.

Between July and August 2025, no fewer than 12 people were killed after some gunmen invaded five communities in Imo State.

Similarly, some assailants abducted three siblings —a boy and two sisters— in Amansea, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The kidnapped boy was allegedly killed after he refused the kidnappers’ instruction to have carnal knowledge of his sister. (The PUNCH)