By News Desk

ABUJA, Nigeria — The USA-based American Military Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID) has issued a formal press release condemning the clandestine nighttime transport of hundreds of unidentified bodies and skeletal remains from mortuaries in Imo State to undisclosed locations.

In an official statement released on August 24, 2026, signed by AVID President Dr. Sylvester Onyia and Secretary Dr. Godson Obiagwu, the organization—comprising Igbo personnel serving or honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces—expressed alarm over recent reports corroborated by Amnesty International regarding human remains removed from facilities such as Ngor Okpala General Hospital and Mbieri General Hospital.

Core Demands and Recommendations

Describing the developments as part of a systematic pattern of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and body disposals across Southeast Nigeria since 2015, the diaspora veterans outlined key demands to state and federal authorities:

• State-Level Judicial Commissions of Inquiry: The Governors of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states must establish independent Judicial Commissions of Inquiry with full powers to investigate all extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and suspicious deaths linked to security operations from 2015 to the present.
• Independent Leadership: Commissions must be chaired by retired judges of high integrity, comprising independent legal practitioners, forensic experts, pathologists, and civil society representatives, conducting transparent public sittings.
• Forensic Audits and Record Production: Authorities must compel the release of mortuary logs, police and military incident reports, and order comprehensive forensic examinations—including DNA testing where necessary—to assist grieving families in identifying remains.
• Halt on Mass Burials and Accountable Prosecution: Pending a full accounting of all bodies moved from Imo State mortuaries and regional facilities, all mass burials or destruction of records must cease immediately, with perpetrators prosecuted regardless of rank or institutional affiliation.

Call to Action

The press release urges regional organizations and international human rights bodies—including Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the South East Governors’ Forum, the National Assembly, and the World Igbo Congress—to support the call for truth, justice, and closure for affected families across the region.