Biafra: HURIWA condemns Onitsha killing of civilian protesters

Media briefing by Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on the emerging suppression of right to civil protest and the alleged deliberate killing of civilian protesters in Onitsha, Anambra State on May 30th 2016 during commemorative events to mark 50 years of declaration of defunct State of Biafra.

We are shocked at the reported high casualty rate at the 30th May 2016 event by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) and  the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign state of Biafra (MASSOB).

From credible sources that were on ground in Onitsha, Anambra State, scores of protesters were killed by armed security forces even as there is the allegation that about 10 worshippers were killed by soldiers inside a Catholic Church in Nkpor, Anambra State. This violent suppression of the constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of speech, peaceful Assembly and Movement by armed security forces is undemocratic and unconstitutional. We hereby condemn these killings and calls on the Nigerian government to take credible, verifiable and transparent measures to ascertain why peaceful marchers were killed without provocation. From available body of evidence, both groups IPOB AND MASSOB are not known to bear arms so the claim by a spokesman of the 82 Div of the Nigerian army claiming self defense as the reason for the soldiers to have opened fire with live bullets into crowds of protesters is not tenable. This incident must be thoroughly investigated. We have resolved to approach the Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai and the Federal Attorney General Alhaji Abubakar Malami (SAN) to investigate these killings and bring perpetrators to Justice.

The repercussions of allowing this impunity to remain unattended to is that individuals who hold direct command responsibilities such as the General Officer commanding 82 Div, in all the security forces whereby these illegal killings of civilians have happened would be dragged to International Crimes Court  for prosecution over crime against humanity.

Over time we have had cause to commend the Army Chief over his bold decisions to mainstream respect of human rights in all internal military operations. We believe that as a gentleman that he truly is, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai will not over look these allegations that his GOC in charge of 82 Div authorized the shooting to death of several unarmed Igbo protesters. We will approach the COAS for redress.

All those who are  currently issuing threats against Civilians such as the IGP Mr. Solomon Arase should learn a lesson from the ordeals of a certain Yusuf Abdi Ali and ex-Chadian president Hissene Habre who after several years that they were accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity are now being made to face criminal Justice internationally. Hissene Habre has just been sentenced to life in Jail.

On his own side one Commander Yusuf Abdi Ali is accused of “overseeing some of the most incredible violence that you can imagine.”He has been quietly living in the U.S. for 20 years. He passed a background check to work at Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC. International Tv- CNN broke the story that Yusuf Abdi Ali served as a commander in the Barre regime and is accused of terrorizing the Isaaq people, torturing clan members, burning villages and conducting mass executions.

Several villagers described these atrocities in a documentary that aired on the Canadian network CBC in 1992. One witness claimed Ali captured and killed a family member.

“He tied (my brother) to military vehicle and dragged him behind. He said to us if you’ve got enough power, get him back,” the villager said. “He shredded him into pieces. That’s how he died.”

CNN found that, today, Ali is living a normal suburban life just outside of the nation’s capital, in Alexandria, VA. He shares an apartment with his wife and works as a security guard at Dulles, one of the busiest airports in the country.

As a result of CNN’s investigation, Ali has been placed on administrative leave.

Ali’s employer Master Security has a contract with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) to provide unarmed security services. Ali passed a “full, federally mandated vetting process” that included an FBI background check and a TSA assessment.

Those who are today misusing the security forces in Nigeria must prepare to face Justice even if Nigerian Justice system denies their victims of Justice.

John Rawls stated as follows

*The key to a fair society is a Just social contract between the state and individuals

*For a social contract to be just, the needs of all individuals party to it must be treated equally.

*To ensure equal treatment, social institutions must be just; they must be accessible to all and redistribute  where necessary.

*Only Just institutions can produce a fair society.

*Principles of justice must be based on more than just individuals morality according to Rawls. The entire framework of society must be taken into account when formulating a system of justice.

*Economic and social inequalities can lead to injustices that favour rich, privileged individual or corporations over the less advantaged.

*This imbalance must be corrected by the rules that govern our social institutions, such as the healthcare system, the electoral system and the educational system.

HURIWA recommends the above mentioned as the panacea to the troubling episodes of systematic injustice against the South East in Nigeria. The South East is indeed marginalised by the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in all facets and this administration has shown high propensity for deliberate hatred of the South East and the constant deployment of armed security forces to kill protesters is seen as a subtle plot by this Buhari’s administration to decimate Igbo population and instigate social imbalance and anarchy in Igbo land.  This must be resisted by all means and by all people of good will to save Nigeria from an imminent implosion. Thank you for listening. 

 Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator

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