Pro-Biafra protest massacre: Only credible probe is acceptable ---Intersociety
(Nigeria) International Society for Civil Liberties and the
Rule of Law, Intersociety, has said that only credible investigation missions were
acceptable to the people of the region and pro-Biafran protesters, who have
been victims of persistent killings by Nigeria’s security operatives.
Intersociety in a statement by its Chairman, Emeka
Umeagbalasi, said “Our attention has been drawn over a recent report by the Sundiata
Post, an online media outfit that the Nigerian Army had dispatched an
investigative team to Aba to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of February 9,
2016 massacre of 22 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and
dumping of 13 of them in Aba-Port Harcourt Road Burrow Pit.
“The report quoted the Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army,
Brig General Ayuba Hamman as having disclosed this during the commissioning of
the newly established Human Rights Desk, Department of Civil-Military Affairs,
at the Army Headquarters in Abuja.
“The Sundiata Post also quoted Brig General Hamman as saying
“most times, the claims made against the army are either unsubstantiated or out
rightly exaggerated” and that “even when verified, most of the violations
usually attributed to their officers and soldiers, are perpetrated by some
other forces during joint operations.
“Brig General Hamman was further quoted as saying “I want to
say that since COAS (Buratai) was appointed I have been inundated with complaints
of human rights reports. ‘We found out that a lot of cases, when reports are
being filed and sent to us or commence investigation they become impatient and
we don’t see those people again. There are a lot of cases that you have to
avail us more information but they are nowhere to be found. We have sent an investigative team to
ascertain the issue in Abia State about the complaint that our men shot some people
involved in peaceful protests. I have confidence in our team and I know this
was a joint operation but since we are part of it, we still need to verify. We
investigate and at the end of the day prosecute the culprits
“We welcome the decision of the Army to investigate the
massacre provided it is credible and not a cover-up mission. We shall also
welcome and cooperate with any other local or international investigation
mission over the massacre provided the investigation team is credible and
unbiased. We wish to inform that till date, neither the lead-petitioner
(Intersociety) nor the victims and their relatives or IPOB organization have
been contacted by the said investigation team from the office of the Army
Provost Marshall.
“We will not be part of any armchair investigation or
investigation warranting invitation of the lead-petitioner (Intersociety) or
group-victim (IPOB) or individual victims (IPOB members/supporters) to the army
headquarters or any other army formation or barracks. Any serious minded and
credible investigation team should be able to go round so as to see the crime
scenes and hear from the victims and the lead-petitioner.
“Available pieces of pictorial and video and other factual
evidence associated with Aba IPOB members’ massacre are too strong for Nigerian
Army to escape culpability on account of its infantile or inexcusable excuses
above.
“The video clips of the massacre and the Burrow Pit dumping
of the 13 murdered IPOB members not only speak for themselves but also show the
depth of involvement of soldiers of the 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army
under Lt Col Kasim Umar Sidi. Our round the clock searchlight is particularly
beamed on the 13 murdered corpses dumped in the said Burrow Pit."
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