Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has blamed politically sponsored cult groups—not the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)—for the wave of insecurity ravaging Nigeria’s South-East region.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Odinkalu admitted that the separatist group contributes to the unrest.

However, he described it as “ridiculous” to blame every violent act in the region on IPOB.

“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,” he said.

Cultism, Not Secession, Driving Violence

Odinkalu said political sponsorship has emboldened these cult groups, turning them into local warlords. He warned that the problem has become “terrible beyond what most people imagine.”

He explained that while there might be links between cultism and IPOB activities in some areas, it was misleading to suggest that the separatist movement alone drives violence in the region.

“Unquestionably, there is an IPOB issue, but the IPOB issue is overblown,” he said.

The human rights advocate stressed that cult groups, acting on political funding and protection, are now behind much of the violence and criminality plaguing the five South-East states.

Odinkalu’s comments come amid a fresh wave of attacks on security formations, police officers, and residents across states like Anambra, Imo, and Enugu.

Many of these assaults have been blamed on IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network.

He urged security agencies and policymakers to look beyond IPOB and focus on dismantling politically motivated cult networks that, he warned, pose a deeper threat to the region’s safety and democracy.