(Onitsha Nigeria, 10th of June 2016)- The leadership of International
Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety) wishes to
inform all Nigerians and international watchers that we have totally been
vindicated concerning our special publication of 6th of June 2016;
titled: How Over 90 Biafran Heroes Day Activists
Were Massacred By Security Forces & Buried In Military Cemetery Inside
Onitsha Army Barracks. The link to the special publication under reference is provided
below: http://www.intersociety-ng.org/component/k2/item/144-genocide-across-the-niger.
Our vindication follows the failure of the trio of the Nigerian Army, the
Nigeria Police Force and the Government of Anambra State, which played leading
murderous roles in the genocidal massacre to statistically and correctly deny
or contradict findings of ours contained in the special publication. Today
marks 96 hours or four days after the release of the special publication, yet
the three killer establishment including the Buhari’s administration, have
maintained “a conspiracy of silence” or silence of the graveyard, till date.
The special publication has commendably received a very wide publicity in
leading local and international media, particularly the online and social media.
The findings of ours under reference have not only rattled
and unsettled the three killer establishments including the Federal Government
of Nigeria, but have also shamed them locally and internationally by exposing
and rubbishing their cooked up basket-load of lies. The Government of Anambra
State, on its part, has embarked on failed damage control and shedding of crocodile
tears. Another aspect of our research findings following our special
publication under reference is that the named killer authorities decided to run
riot on Nigeria’s traditional media with a basket-load of lies over their
genocidal acts in the genocide; the moment they realized that their butchery
acts have led to the death of over 120 innocent and unarmed citizens and injuring
of dozens of others in less than eight hours. Following this, a basket-load
of lies was let loose; stigmatizing and criminalizing the event organizers and
their supporters as well as mangling and suppressing casualty figures with
reckless abandon. The Government of Anambra State, for instance, on its part,
lied unpardonably by claiming that no
single activist was killed and
that the unarmed and innocent Biafran Heroes Day celebrants were armed with
guns with which they opened fire at the security forces and that other arms
recovered from them included dynamites, machetes and biafran flags.
The army and the
police also corroborated the false claims of the Government of Anambra State,
leading to issuance of another violent order by retiring IGP Solomon Arase,
ordering for disarming of armed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as well
as the Nigerian Army, which claimed it acted within the ambit of the
Rules of Engagement, Self Defense and Use of Force. In all these, lies of unpardonable and
alarming proportions were cooked up with intents to pollute the public minds
and cover-up their genocidal acts. But
for our effective application of investigative analytical method and
microscopic evidencing, leading to exposition of the genocidal
atrocities under reference particularly the high casualty figures and their
secret mass burial; the Government of Anambra State, the Nigerian Army, the
Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Government of Nigeria would have succeeded
in contaminating the minds of Nigerian public and the international watchers
with their basket-load of lies using a gagged section of the Nigerian media.
The most heinous
of the genocidal atrocities committed by the three killer establishments was
the brazen denial to the effect that no innocent citizen lost his or her life in
the genocidal massacre; whereas above 120 deaths were recorded and above 130
deadly injured citizens were affected. The second heinous part of it all was
the coordinated unlawful evacuation of dozens of corpses of the murdered
activists and their secret mass burial inside Onitsha Military Barracks
cemetery. Totality of these is geared towards cover-up or erasing of traces of criminal
culpability of the perpetrators.
It is therefore
shocking and saddening that the same Governor Willie Obiano that went gaga in
feeding the whole world with the above named basket-load of lies and labeling
of Biafran Heroes Day celebrants as “miscreants and hoodlums”; leading to their
mass murder, has suddenly turned around to shed crocodile tears and
pretentiously apologetic. He had during his visit at Nkpor, following the
special report of ours under reference, promised to “offset the hospital bills
of the wounded”. This is after soldiers and SARS under his security watch, had
invaded a number of hospitals including the Nnewi Teaching Hospital and
abducted the wounded in their hospital beds; forcing most of the 130 citizens
with gunshot wounds in other hospitals in Anambra State as well as Asaba in
Delta State to flee their hospital beds and escaped to neighboring States.
It further saddens our heart that the Governor
who was laboriously elected by the People of Anambra State in November 2013 to
protect them and ensure their welfare in accordance with Section 14 (2) (b) of
the 1999 Constitution, has turned against his people and even worsened their
security and welfare. Rather than rising to the occasion to protect his people
against the rampaging dictatorial administration of Gen Muhammadu Buhari and
its murderous uniformed men, Governor Willie Obiano has joined forces with
sworn enemies of his own people. Today, he is a “king governor” and governor of
the elites, while the masses who got him elected are abandoned with their
lives, liberties and social values including ethnic identities and rights to
bury their murdered loved ones turned to shreds and given away to rampaging
ethnic cleansers.
It is on record
that out of over 200 innocent and unarmed citizens; mostly in their 20s and
30s, killed in the Southeast and the South-south parts of Nigeria by the Army,
the Police and other security forces between 30th of August 2015 and
30th of May 2016; a period of nine months, following nonviolent and peaceful
assemblies organized by self determination activists and campaigners; 160 of
them were killed in Onitsha under the violent security watch of Governor Willie
Obiano. The 160 dead activists include four citizens killed in Awka on 30th
of August 2015, over 13 killed in Onitsha on 2nd December 2015, over
nine killed in Onitsha on 17th of December 2015 and over 120
massacred in Onitsha and Asaba on 30th of May 2016 as well as 10
others or more found dumped in the mortuary by soldiers and those that died
later in hospitals including four that died at the Multicare Hospital at Nkpor.
Over 36 of those killed were killed in Aba, Abia State on 18th and
29th of January and 9th of February 2016.
We therefore
consider Governor Willie Obiano’s promise to “offset the hospital bills of the
wounded” in the genocidal massacre of 30th of May 2016 as a fraud,
ill-conceived and grave insult to those himself and others violently departed
as well as those who were terminally wounded. This is because the same Governor
under whose security watch and authorization soldiers went on rampage, invading
hospitals and abducting the wounded in their emergency beds, leading to
desertion of all but few whose relations are yet to ascertain their whereabouts
or afraid to do same; is the same Governor “pledging to offset their hospital
bills”. At Nkpor Crown Hospital where he reportedly visited, all the gunshot
victims on admission, except two dead activists yet to be identified by their
families, have long been hurriedly discharged by their families. Mere pledge to offset the hospital bills of
the wounded is nothing but “medicine after death” and desperate moves to
panel-beat a second term gubernatorial ambition; which is why we regarded the
Governor’s grossly belated assuaging moves as “failed damage control and
shedding of crocodile tears”.
Now that our
special publication and its thoroughly investigated contents have forced the
Government of Anambra State through Governor Willie Obiano to probate and
reprobate, there are two frontal ways to remedy the genocidal massacre under
reference; local and international ways. Locally, on account of our expository
publication, which has forced the killer establishments to the point of
dumbness and apologies of the graveyard; the Government of Anambra State must
formally and boldly come out publicly to admit and explain fully its roles in
the genocidal massacre. These include how much it spent in funding the
genocidal operation through its JTF, the total number of innocent and unarmed
citizens that were killed, why they were killed, which provisions of the 1999
Constitution and regional and international conventions empower their killers
to kill them, how and why their remains were unlawfully gathered from genocidal scenes
by the State Government funded JTF and under what condition they were kept
before their secret mass burial in Onitsha Army Cemetery, and why and how they
were given secret mass burial inside the Onitsha Army Barracks in the noon of
Wednesday, 1st of June 2016.
The Government
of Anambra State must also tell the whole world the constitutional basis or
otherwise upon which its JTF operatives including soldiers and SARS invaded
hospitals where the wounded are receiving emergency medical attentions and got
them abducted and taken to undisclosed locations. Nigerians and international
watchers must be informed too, of the number of them that were shot dead or
forced to die on the process and where they were buried. There are reports of
abduction by soldiers and SARS operatives of innocent and unarmed citizens in
their homes in late night raids and invasions with some, if not many not seen
till date. The general public must be told where they were buried? Was it only
automatic weapons with live bullets that were deadly used by soldiers, SARS
operatives and police personnel in the genocidal massacre or were raw acid
substances and machetes used against innocent and unarmed Biafran Heroes Day
celebrants by soldiers, SARS and other security forces?
The Government
of Anambra State must also recant all the lies it told against the organizers
and supporters of the Biafran Heroes Day Anniversary to the effect that “they
were armed with guns, shot at security forces, killed two police officers,
found armed with dynamites and machetes and that nobody died on the side of the
celebrants”. Totality of these constitutes “true gubernatorial repentance,
confession and apology”. Shedding of crocodile tears is never good enough and
roundly rejected!
Further, all the over 90 corpses of murdered Biafran Heroes
Day celebrants secretly buried in a military cemetery inside Onitsha Army
Barracks in the noon of Wednesday, 1st of June 2016, must be
publicly exhumed by the Government of Anambra State,
demographically and pathologically identified and medically investigated. This
should be followed up by placement of Government radio and television
announcements on Government owned stations like ABS TV & Radio, local,
national and international NTA as well as privately owned TVs and Radios
including Channels TV, AIT, Silver Bird, Galaxy and Minaj TVs, as well as Blaze,
Purity and Odenigbo Radios, etc. Such adverts should also be placed on leading
newspapers and leading online media as well as Government written announcements
to be announced in churches, markets and town unions.
The Government
announcement will contain a call to members of the public and interest groups
to send the names and pictures and bio-data of their missing dead relations,
recovered dead bodies as well as those shot and wounded by soldiers and other
security forces in the genocidal massacre that took place in Nkpor, Onitsha and
Asaba between the early morning and late night of 30th of May 2016. The
Government of Anambra State must also designate easily accessible and secured
points of contact for collection and verification of such names and pictures as
well as ensuring hurdle and threats-free atmosphere for their family members
and friends so as to ensure maximum cooperation and responses.
The remains of
those murdered by the Government of Anambra State and its JTF must be released
to their families and in the case of those beyond scientific or pathological
identifications; their families must be allowed to go home with sands or earth
mud extracted from the secret mass burial sites inside Onitsha Army Barracks.
Each of the families of the 120 murdered activists must be issued with a
living cheque of N5million; while each of the families of the 130 wounded
citizens must receive N2million cheque. After all these, the Government of
Anambra State through Governor Willie Obiano must tender unreserved written
apology to the Igbo race, the People of Niger Delta, members of the deceased
and the wounded families, the IPOB, MASSOB, the BIM, etc and all Nigerians and
international watchers. The written apology must be placed on leading
government and private media outfits: audio, audio visual, paper and online
media.
It is our
further recommendation to Federal Government of Nigeria and the Government of
Anambra State to put plans in place to relocate the Onitsha Army Barracks and conversion
of the land or space to “Freedom Square” for democratic free speeches and
peaceful assemblies to be dedicated to all those innocent and unarmed citizens
murdered since 30th of August 2015 as well as to the peoples of
Southeast and South-south Nigeria.
As for those who
played leading murderous roles in the genocidal massacre particularly Col Issah
M. Abdullahi (Commander, Onitsha Military Cantonment), Major C.O. Ibrahim
(operational commander of the genocidal
massacre), CP Hosea Karma (CP, Anambra State Command), DCP Makama (2i/c,
Anambra State Police Command), DCP J.M. Kokomo (DC, OPS, Anambra State Police
Command) and the State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Tony Nnacheta, etc,
they should be administratively dismissed from their duties and charged to
court for murder, conspiracy for murder, attempted murder and related others.
If the Federal
Government continues to refuse to make the named heads of security forces to
account for their heinous crimes as it did in the case of other perpetrators, we shall be left with no other choice than to
conclude that “the Federal Government has again, failed woefully under the
international law’s “Principle of Complimentarity”; by being unwilling and unable to
bring its perpetrators to justice; thereby providing sufficient grounds for
international criminal justice including ICC interventions or sufficient resort to other regional and
international remedies under the ECOWAS, AU or UN Systems.
The manifest unwillingness
and inability of the Federal Government of Nigeria under reference has
already made the likes of President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Willie Obiano of
Anambra State, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (COAS), Mr. Solomon Arase (Retiring IGP),
CP Hosea Habila (CP, Abia State), Lt Col Sidi Kazim Umar Sidi (Commander, 144
Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Abia State) and ACP Peter Nwagbara (Aba Area
Commander) the ICC bound and international criminal justice fugitives; with the
test case of them all being retiring IGP Solomon Arase, who leaves the NPF on
21st of June 2016. We deeply pity him and his post retirement life.
This is because there is no longer impunity and immunity for regime atrocities
and no hiding place for their perpetrators.
Signed:
For: International Society for Civil Liberties &
the Rule of Law
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
Mobile Line: +2348174090052
Barr Obianuju Igboeli, Head, Civil Liberties &
Rule of Law Program
Mobile Line: +2348034186332
Barr Chinwe Umeche, Head, Democracy & Good
Governance Program
Mobile Line: +2347013238673
Website: www.intersociety-ng.org
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