Amnesty International has strongly condemned a brutal attack by gunmen on St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Lilu community, Ihiala LGA, Anambra State, in the early hours of Sunday, December 7, 2025.
The rights group called on authorities to conduct an impartial and transparent investigation, hold the perpetrators accountable, and probe security lapses that allowed the attack to occur. The church also houses the operational base of Agunechemba Security personnel deployed by the state government, raising concerns over apparent security failures.
During the attack, a man was killed and the wife of the Reverend in charge of the church was abducted. Her body was later discovered brutally murdered and partially unclothed.
Amnesty International described the incident as a stark reminder of the ongoing inability of authorities to protect Nigerians from armed groups, which have abducted and killed thousands across the country over the past decade.
Since 2023, the organisation has documented the activities of armed groups in parts of South-East Nigeria, turning communities such as Lilu, Agwa, and Izombe in Oguta LGA of Imo State into “ungoverned spaces,” displacing residents, sacking traditional rulers, and seizing control of entire communities.
