By Okechukwu Nwanguma
On August 21, 2025, stakeholders from across the Southeast gathered in Awka, Anambra State, for a dialogue session aptly themed “Voices Unchained – A Journey Through Civic Space in Southeast Nigeria.”
The event, convened by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) with support from the Fund for Global Human Rights, provided a sobering reflection of the shrinking civic space in the region.
The testimonies were chilling: journalists hounded for exposing the truth, students silenced through imposed leadership, activists detained in makeshift facilities by police and vigilante groups, and ordinary citizens too afraid to speak out for fear of reprisal. Participants described a climate where mob justice thrives unchecked, where courts are sluggish, and where political leaders maintain a dangerous silence.
The story of Elohor Jennifer Edema, an NYSC member assaulted by operatives of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group in Oba, Anambra State, epitomises the peril. She recalls mistaking them for armed robbers until they ordered her and others out of their rooms. Instead of providing safety, they inflicted fear and trauma. That moment underscores a grim truth: in parts of the Southeast, the lines between state authority, community security, and criminal violence have blurred.
The dialogue in Awka and Elohor’s ordeal points to a larger crisis—the collapse of civic protections under the combined weight of state repression, vigilante excesses, and community silence.
Vigilante groups, meant to complement law enforcement, increasingly operate as law unto themselves. With little to no training in human rights or due process, many abuse power: detaining suspects indefinitely, meting out jungle justice, and extorting families. In May 2025, in Uratta, Imo State, a 20-year-old boy was tortured to death by youths over a missing power bank. Elohor’s case, and at least three others reported recently, show that this is no aberration—it is a pattern.
The danger is compounded by weak judicial systems, ambiguous laws like the Cybercrimes Act used to silence online expression, and the absence of clear statutory frameworks defining vigilante roles. While states like Kaduna have enacted some regulatory laws, most states—including in the Southeast—leave vigilantes to operate in grey zones, unchecked and unaccountable.
Yet, the answers are neither impossible nor unknown. Stakeholders at the Awka dialogue made clear demands:
Stop the criminalisation of dissent and uphold the non-negotiable rights to free expression, peaceful assembly, and association.
Review and reform ambiguous laws, including the Cybercrimes Act, that shrink civic space.
Define vigilante roles clearly through state and federal legislation, with strict limits on enforcement powers.
Provide rigorous training in human rights, arrest protocols, and referral procedures for all community security groups.
Establish independent oversight bodies to monitor vigilante and police conduct, with sanctions for abuses.
Restore democratic student unionism, accelerate judicial reforms, and expand legal aid for the vulnerable.
The government of Anambra State deserves commendation for its prompt response in Elohor’s case, but true accountability will be measured by whether justice is delivered transparently and whether reforms prevent recurrence. Other Southeast governments must not look away. Silence in the face of abuse is complicity.
The message from Awka is resounding: civic space is not a privilege but a constitutional right and a democratic necessity. Security, too, must never come at the expense of freedom and dignity.
Without urgent reforms, the Southeast risks entrenching a culture where both state and non-state actors become predators rather than protectors. That culture will not only silence voices but also suffocate investment, deepen insecurity, and erode trust in governance.
For the sake of victims like Elohor, for the sake of young people silenced in our universities, and for the sake of democracy itself, Southeast leaders must break their silence. They must act decisively to regulate vigilante groups, demand accountability from security agencies, and guarantee that voices in our region are no longer chained by fear.
The Southeast deserves safety with rights, not safety without dignity. It is time to build order, not disorder. It is time to unchain voices and reclaim safety.
