Survivor of New Year’s Day Massacre Recounts Harrowing Escape
January 3, 2023 – Aba, Nigeria – In the aftermath of the tragic New Year’s Day clash in southeastern Nigeria that left hundreds dead, an eyewitness has come forward with a chilling account of the violence that unfolded in the village near Aba.
Eric Amadi, a carpenter from Aba, described how he narrowly escaped death after government security forces opened fire on suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Amadi, who had just completed his daily shift at a building site in Aba, recalled the moment the chaos erupted. “It was around 4 p.m. when I started hearing gunshots in the distance,” Amadi said. “At first, I thought it was just some local trouble, but the noise kept getting louder and closer.”
As the shooting intensified, Amadi realized that the village was under attack. “I saw people running in all directions, screaming for help,” he said.
“The gunfire was coming from every side — it was hard to tell who was shooting.”
Realizing that he was in immediate danger, Amadi sprinted toward a nearby bush and hid under thick foliage.
“I could hear the soldiers shouting and gunfire cracking through the air. I lay there holding my breath, hoping they wouldn’t find me.”
From his hiding place, Amadi witnessed the horror unfold before his eyes. “I saw people falling to the ground. Some were already lifeless. Others were crawling and crying out for help,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion. “The soldiers were not sparing anyone.”
Amadi’s escape was nothing short of miraculous, but his personal loss was devastating. His father and two young children were among those killed in the attack. “I had left my children and my father at home earlier that day,” Amadi explained. “When I finally managed to get back to my house the next morning, everything was destroyed. My father and my children were gone.”
“I later found my father’s body lying among the others. My children were not there, but I fear they are dead.”
Amadi’s account aligns with multiple reports of mass burials conducted by Nigerian security forces in the wake of the violence.
“I don’t know why they had to do this to us,” he said. “We are just trying to survive. Neither I nor my family members are part of IPOB. My father and children were innocent.”
The New Year’s Day attack has deepened the fear and tension gripping southeastern Nigeria, where Indigenous People Of Biafra’s (IPOB) push for independence has been met with a heavy-handed government response.
“If you are young and from the southeast, the government treats you as a threat,” Moses, another victim of the mayhem explained. “But IPOB also pressures you to join them. Either way, you are a target.”
Amadi, now grieving and displaced, is unsure of what the future holds. “I have lost everything,” he said. “My father, my children, my home — all gone in one night. I survived by God’s grace, but I don’t know how to start over.”
Human rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the incident, citing the growing pattern of state violence and extrajudicial killings in southeastern Nigeria. The Nigerian government has yet to respond to the accusations.
Amadi’s story underscores the deep and personal toll of the conflict between IPOB and the Nigerian government. “We just want to live in peace,” Amadi said. “But right now, peace feels impossible.”
