A civil rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has come hard on Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State over his alleged assertion that 99% of all the arrested kidnappers in the state are Igbos, not Fulani herdsmen.
The governor made the claim during a speech in Maryland, United States.
NATIONAL POST reports that Fulani herdsmen are always fingered in most of the kidnappings across the South-East region.
However, Soludo countered that belief in the speech during his U.S. visit.
Governor Soludo was reported to have said that, “Out of 99.5% of those arrested by the government in various camps belonging to kidnappers across the state, none is a member of the killer herdsmen.”
He further dismissed security reports about Fulani herdsmen occupying forests in Anambra as “false narratives.”
Responding, Intersociety, in a statement issued on Tuesday, signed by its Board Chairmen, Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche, Human Rights Lawyer/Head, Democracy and Good Governance and Chidinma Udegbunam, Human Rights Lawyer/Head, Campaign and Publicity, the rights group described the governor’s statement as “reckless,” “vexatious,” and “gravely endangering the security and safety of the State and her citizens.”
“The Governor is gravely endangering the security and safety of the State, especially their present and future safety.
“His government’s kid-gloves and lukewarm approaches to jihadist herdsmen and their genocidal activities across the state since the inception of his administration on March 17, 2022, are deeply troubling,” Intersociety said.
It accused Governor Soludo of shielding the killer herdsmen despite evidence of their involvement in violent crimes, claiming they account for “not less than 30% of violent crimes across the State.”
The group further alleged that “about 60% or more of forest camps belonging to violent criminals… including armed herdsmen are yet to be accessed or raided by security forces.”
Referencing a media report published on June 23, 2025, Umeagbalasi said Anambra State has been listed among 11 states that embraced the Nigerian government’s cattle ranching plan, a move he described as “blind, selfish and strongly condemnable.”
The group warned of the long-term consequences of the state’s alleged complicity.
“Anambra State… now sits on a keg of jihadist gunpowder… with grave dangers," the statement warned.
The group also pointed to a specific incident in April 2024, where a family of three was abducted and allegedly raped by herdsmen in the Ukwulu forest.
Intersociety claimed that after being alerted, the state government denied the incident and labelled it a “concocted narrative.”
Umeagbalasi added, “His assertion that ‘none of the 99.5% of those arrested in Anambra State is a member of killer herdsmen’… does not hold water, especially against the backdrop of intelligence bias and lack of credible forensic capabilities by the State.”
The group further alleged that in 2021, a senior official in Soludo’s government was accused of facilitating land acquisitions for herdsmen in various Anambra communities, including Awka North and South, Ayamelum, and Dunukofia.