FILE - Policemen stand guard as supporters of Indigenous People of Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu rally in Abuja, Nigeria Dec. 1, 2015.

LAGOS, NIGERIA —
Nigeria’s military has killed at least 150 peaceful protesters in a “chilling campaign” to repress renewed demands to create a breakaway state of Biafra in the southeast, Amnesty International said Thursday.

The military denied any “killing of defenseless agitators.” Security forces have “exercised maximum restraint” in response to violent protesters who in May killed five police officers and wounded several soldiers, said army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman.

Evidence analyzed

The London-based human rights organization said an analysis of 87 videos, 122 photographs and testimony from 146 witnesses showed “the military fired live ammunition with little or no warning” into crowds protesting in several cities between August 2015 and August 2016.

Hundreds of people have been arbitrarily detained and some tortured, Amnesty said.