The Nigerian security
forces, led by the military, embarked on a chilling campaign of
extrajudicial executions and violence resulting in the deaths of at least 150 peaceful pro-Biafra protesters in the south east of
the country, according to an investigation by Amnesty International published today.
Analysis of 87 videos,
122 photographs and 146 eye witness testimonies relating to demonstrations and other gatherings
between August 2015 and August 2016 consistently shows that the military fired live ammunition with
little or no warning to disperse crowds. It also finds evidence of mass
extrajudicial executions by security forces, including at least 60 people shot
dead in the space of two days in connection with events to mark Biafra Remembrance Day.
“This deadly repression
of pro-Biafra activists is further stoking tensions in
the south east of Nigeria. This reckless and trigger-happy
approach to crowd control has caused at least 150 deaths and we fear the actual
total might be far higher,” said Makmid Kamara, Interim Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
“The Nigerian
government’s decision to send in the military to respond to pro-Biafra events seems to be in large part
to blame for this excessive bloodshed. The authorities must immediately launch
an impartial investigation and bring the perpetrators to book.”
This reckless and trigger-happy approach to crowd control has
caused at least 150 deaths and we fear the actual total might be far higher
Since August 2015, there
has been a series of protests, marches and gatherings by members and supporters
of IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) who have been seeking the creation of
a Biafran state. Tensions increased further following the arrest of IPOB leader
Nnamdi Kanu on 14 October 2015. He remains in detention.
Extrajudicial executions
By far the largest
number of pro-Biafra activists were killed on Biafra Remembrance Day on 30 May 2016
when an estimated 1,000 IPOB members and supporters gathered for a rally in
Onitsha, Anambra State. The night before the rally, the security forces raided
homes and a church where IPOB members were sleeping.
On Remembrance Day
itself, the security forces shot people in several locations. Amnesty International has not been able
to verify the exact number of extrajudicial executions, but estimates that at
least 60 people were killed and 70 injured in these two days. The real number
is likely to be higher.
Ngozi (not her real
name), a 28-year-old mother of one, told Amnesty International that her husband
left in the morning to go to work but called her shortly afterwards to say that
the militaryhad shot him in his abdomen. He said
he was in a military vehicle with six others, four of
whom were already dead. She told Amnesty International: “he started whispering
and said they just stopped [the vehicle]. He was scared they would kill the
remaining three of them that were alive... He paused and told me they were
coming closer. I heard gunshots and I did not hear a word from him after that.”
He started whispering and said they just stopped [the vehicle]. He
was scared they would kill the remaining three of them that were alive... He
paused and told me they were coming closer. I heard gunshots and I did not hear
a word from him after that
The next day Ngozi
searched for her husband and finally found his body in a nearby mortuary. The
mortuary attendants told her that the military had brought him and six others.
She saw three gunshot wounds: one in his abdomen and two in his chest, which
confirmed her fear that the military had executed him.
Amnesty International has also reviewed
videos of a peaceful gathering of IPOB members and supporters at Aba National
High School on 9 February 2016. The Nigerian military surrounded the group and then
fired live ammunition at them without any prior warning.
According to
eyewitnesses and local human rights activists, many of the protesters at Aba were
rounded up and taken away by the military. On 13 February 13 corpses, including
those of men known to have been taken by the military, were discovered in a pit near the
Aba highway.
“It is chilling to see
how these soldiers gunned down peaceful IPOB members. The video evidence shows
that this was a military operation with intent to kill
and injure,” said Makmid Kamara.
Deadly repression
Eyewitness testimony and
video footage of the rallies, marches and meetings demonstrate that the
Nigerian military deliberately used deadly force.
In many of the incidents
detailed in the report, including the Aba High School protest, the militaryapplied tactics designed to kill and
neutralize an enemy, rather than to ensure public order at a peaceful event.
All IPOB gatherings
documented by Amnesty International were largely
peaceful. In those cases where there were pockets of violence, it was mostly in
reaction to shooting by the security forces.
Eyewitnesses told Amnesty International that some
protesters threw stones, burned tyres and in one incident shot at the police.
Regardless, these acts of violence and disorder did not justify the level of
force used against the whole assembly.
Amnesty International’s research also shows a
disturbing pattern of hundreds of arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment by
soldiers during and after IPOB events, including arrests of wounded victims in
hospital, and torture and other ill-treatment of detainees.
Vincent Ogbodo (not his
real name), a 26-year-old trader, said he was shot on Remembrance Day in Nkpor
and hid in a gutter. When soldiers found him they poured acid on him. He told Amnesty International:
I covered my face. I
would have been blind by now. He poured acid on my hands. My hands and body
started burning. The flesh was burning… They dragged me out of the gutter. They
said I’ll die slowly.”
I covered my face. I would have been blind by now. He poured acid
on my hands. My hands and body started burning. The flesh was burning… They
dragged me out of the gutter. They said I’ll die slowly
A man who was detained
in Onitsha Barracks after the Remembrance Day shooting on 30 May 2016 told Amnesty International: “Those in the guard
room [detention] were flogged every morning. The soldiers tagged it ‘Morning
Tea’.”
No action by authorities to ensure accountability
Despite this
overwhelming evidence that the Nigerian security forces committed gross human
rights violations including extrajudicial executions and torture, no
investigations have been carried out by the authorities.
A similar pattern of
lack of accountability for gross violations by the military has been documented in other
parts of Nigeria including the north east in the
context of operations against Boko Haram.
“Amnesty International has repeatedly
called on the government of Nigeria to initiate independent
investigations into evidence of crimes under international law, and President
Buhari has repeatedly promised that Amnesty International’s reports would be
looked into. However, no concrete steps have been taken,” said Makmid Kamara.
In the very rare cases
where an investigation is carried out, there is no follow up. As a result of
the apparent lack of political will to investigate and prosecute perpetrators
of such crimes, the militarycontinues to commit human rights
violations and grave crimes with impunity.
In addition to
investigations, the Nigerian government must ensure adequate reparations for the
victims, including the families. They should end all use of military in policing demonstrations and ensure the police are
adequately instructed, trained and equipped to deal with crowd-control
situations in line with international law and standards. In particular,
firearms must never be used as a tool for crowd control.
Background
The findings of this
report involved an analysis of 87 videos and 122 photographs showing IPOB
gatherings and members of security forces in the process of committing
violations and victims of these violations. 193 interviews were conducted.
On 30 September 2016, Amnesty International shared the key
findings of this report with the Federal Minister of Justice and Attorney
General, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Minister of Interior, Inspector General of Police and the
Director-General of the state Security Services. Responses were received from
the Attorney General and Inspector General of Police but neither answered the
questions raised in the report.
IPOB emerged in 2012 and
campaigns for an Independent Biafran state. Almost fifty years ago, an attempt
to establish Biafra state led to a civil war from 1967
to 1970.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/peaceful-pro-biafra-activists-killed-in-chilling-crackdown/
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