It has come to the notice
of International Society for Civil
Liberties & the Rule of Law that the Nigerian Security Forces
particularly the Nigerian Army, are at it again.
Our extensive investigations clearly indicate that ahead of
tomorrow’s Sit-At-Home protest organized by leading Pro Biafra groups
particularly the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB); there are heavy deployment
of soldiers in all nooks and crannies of the South East and the South South
parts of Nigeria; with the South East being the worst affected.
By close-source and open-source information available to us, the
most affected states are Anambra and Abia; followed by Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu.
In the South South are Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. Most
affected cities now under siege are Onitsha and Aba. Others are Owerri, Enugu,
Umuahia, Abakiliki, Asaba, Okigwe, Nnewi and Nkpor. As at this morning, there
are heavy presence of soldiers in major areas of Onitsha and Aba.
As a matter of fact, we saw
passersby retiring home from work and trade being frog-jumped and whipped by
soldiers at Upper Iweka and Onitsha Niger Bridge areas of Onitsha in the
evening of Wednesday, September 21, 2016. Before now, there had been frightening
number of military check-points mounted along major federal and state roads and
other strategic junctions and intersections in the Southeast part of Nigeria.
Most of these soldiers are of northern Muslim extractions with entrenched
culture of ethnic bias and hatred.
Further reports have it that more reinforcements will be moved
from the 82nd Division of the Nigerian Armyin Enugu between 10am today and
5am tomorrow morning to Onitsha, Aba, Umuahia, Port Harcourt and Abakiliki.
Some road users have also informed Intersociety of
long military convoys moving towards Onitsha, Aba, etc, from the Enugu
82nd Division of the Nigerian Army.
Totality of these is that Southeast is under siege despite total
absence of non-State actor security threats. It alarms and worries us at Intersociety as
why an indoor-protest will warrant such State obsessive and
crude security reactions. Which is why we held and still hold correctly that
the flooding of the Southeast and the South-south; particularly the Southeast
with battalions of soldiers is for the purpose of repeating the
May 30, 2016 Mayhem at
Nkpor. It is recalled that dozens of innocent citizens numbering as much as 110
were massacred in hours and scores of others terminally injured by Nigerian Army, after which most of their
bodies were picked and later buried in 15 mass graves inside Onitsha Army
Barracks.
The most shocking and horrible part of it is that scores of
those shot and killed were passersby, onlookers, artisans working in their work
places; traders trading in their provision stores and citizens returning from
early church services. For instance, three innocent citizens returning from
their early morning mass service at St Edmunds Catholic Church along Umuoji
Road, Nkpor were among those shot and killed; after which their bodies were
picked and taken away by soldiers till date.
Though most members of the public including leading Christian
bodies have since adjusted their programs for tomorrow in compliance with the Indoor
or Sit-At-Home protest
appeal, but the Nigerian Army has further aided same
unprofessionally and crudely, by creating security panics and atmosphere most
likely to result in mass murder or massacre of innocent members of the public;
claiming that those shot and killed are those
caught armed and enforcing sit-at-home or forcing people going about their
lawful businesses back to their homes. These the Security
Forces particularly soldiers will label “violent/armed IPOB or MASSOB Members”.
That is to say that the Nigerian Security Forces particularly
the Nigerian Army have endangered any form of public
movement tomorrow in the Southeast and the South-south parts of Nigeria,
particularly in the cities of Onitsha, Asaba, Enugu, Nkpor, Umuahia, Owerri,
Abakiliki, Nnewi, Aba, Port Harcourt and so on.
It is therefore too risky and death-prone for road users
including traders, civil servants, school children, artisans, okada, keke and
commercial bus drivers, etc to leave their homes tomorrow particularly in the
Southeast part of Nigeria and South-south cities of Asaba, Port Harcourt, Uyo,
etc. This is because they can get killed individually or in group by soldiers
and their bodies taking away and bury secretly in mass graves. This is more so
when most of the soldiers being drafted are serial ethnic cleansers and hate
killers.
To avoid innocent members of the public being massacred by
soldiers, navy and police personnel on their way to markets, offices,
workstations, vehicular terminals and schools, all civil members of the public
are called upon to stay off roads tomorrow and avoid risking their safety and
lives. This passionate appeal should respectfully be fully complied with and
acted upon and disseminated in all cities of the Southeast and the South-south
parts of Nigeria.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, B.Sc., Criminology & Security
Studies; M.Sc. (c), Peace & Conflict Studies
Board Chairman, International Society for Civil Liberties
& the Rule of Law-INTERSOCIETY
Mobile Line: +2348174090052
Email: info@intersociety-ng.org
Website: www.intersociety-ng.org
Obianuju Igboeli, Esq., LLB, BL; LLM (c)
Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
Mobile Line: +2348034186332
Chinwe Umeche, Esq., LLB, BL
Head, Democracy & Good Governance Program
Mobile Line: +2347013238673
No comments:
Post a Comment