Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has accused politicians of fueling the growing insecurity in Nigeria’s South East region.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Thursday, October 23, Odinkalu claimed that many politicians in the region sponsor cult groups that have become a major source of violence and unrest.
He argued that while separatist agitations by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) contribute to insecurity in the South East, it is misleading to blame every violent incident on the group.
“Let me tell you this — the biggest single issue, in security terms, confronting the South East, in my estimation, based on the work I have done on this, is, I regret to disappoint you, not IPOB. It is one word: cults, financed by politicians,” Odinkalu said.
He stressed that the problem of cultism in the region has reached alarming levels and is far more serious than most people realize.
“The cults are the biggest single issue, and you don’t have a clue how terrible the problem of cults in the South East is at this particular time,” he added.
Odinkalu’s remarks add to ongoing conversations about the complex nature of insecurity in the region, where criminal activities, political manipulation, and separatist movements often intersect.