Gunmen Kill 30, Burn Vehicles in Nigeria's Imo Southeast

At least 30 travelers were killed and over 20 vehicles burned in a violent attack on the Okigwe-Owerri highway in Nigeria's southeastern Imo State, an incident Amnesty International attributes to the banned separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network. The attack involved gunmen operating in three groups who barricaded the highway and shot sporadically before setting the vehicles ablaze, prompting a large-scale security operation to locate the assailants. Imo police confirmed the attack and reported killing one of the attackers but declined to specify the total death toll. The violence comes amid heightened tensions in the region, coinciding with a visit by President Bola Tinubu and the trial of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu on terrorism charges. Amnesty International condemned the attack as showing a callous disregard for human life and urged Nigerian authorities to conduct a full and transparent investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice. However, Kanuta Kanu, brother of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, rejected Amnesty's allegations, calling them unverified and politically motivated.