It is recalled that the leadership of International Society for
Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety) had 24 hours ago,
called for international investigation of the Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt
Gen Tukur Buratai and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, over
their individual and vicarious involvement in the two brazen massacres
involving unarmed citizens, which took place in Onitsha on 2nd
December 2015 and Zaria on 11th, 12th and 13th
December 2015. While over 13 innocent citizens were murdered and over 30
critically injured in the Onitsha Killings; hundreds were murdered and
scores of others including the leader of the Shiite Islamic Sect; Ibrahim
El-Zakzaky critically injured in the Zaria Massacre.
It is also extremely important to inform that in Zaria
Massacre, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, was
individually and vicariously involved. The Army Chief’s individual involvement
followed his personal leadership and direction of a team of the murderous
combatants that perpetrated the heinous act. The murderous team of combatants
was also directed for the second time by the COAS to go and finish what
they started. As far as the Zaria Massacre is concerned, the
Nigerian Army is solely involved and responsible. To cap it all, the Nigerian
Army authorities had on 12th November 2015 issued a stern
warning to Nigerians; directing them to desist from exercising
their constitutional rights to peaceful assembly, association and movement. The
Army specifically labeled such groups as the Southeast political self
determination agitators as insurrectionists and
threatened to visit the military might and maximum force against them.
The results of the stern warning were the Onitsha
Killings and the Zaria Massacre. The Nigerian Army, in conjunction with the
Nigeria Police Force had before then shot and critically wounded peaceful and
non violent Southeast self determination protesters in Delta, Abia, Ebonyi,
Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers and Cross River States. The names and identities of the
critically wounded innocent protesting citizens under reference are being
compiled in all the affected States.
Why it is true that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) never took part
in the Zaria Massacre; the Force was grossly involved in the Onitsha
Killings as well as shootings that took place in the areas (States)
mentioned above. In all these, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon
Arase was individually and vicariously involved. Apart from being the
chief operational officer of the NPF, which earns him individual
involvement, he had on 2nd December 2015, issued a police
use of terror force threat against the same peaceful groups and
citizens and directed his sub commanders at Zones 5, 6 and 9 Police Commands as
well as Police Commissioners of Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Delta,
Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Edo States to maximally
exercise their constitutional mandates (use of maximum force)to repel pro
Southeast self determination(Biafra) protests and protesters. The
result of the IGP’s use of deadly force directive was the Onitsha
Killings & Shootings. As if this was not enough, the IGP returned to
Anambra State on 12th December 2015, assembled his police officers
at Awka and commended them for a job well done; and promised to
decorate them with new ranks soon.
Also, till date, neither the Federal Government of Muhammadu
Buhari nor the Government of Anambra State headed by Mr. Willie Obiano had
shown any moral and compensatory remorse or issued public apologies to
Nigerians and the families of the murdered and the wounded over the dastardly
acts of their security forces. All the critically wounded are left abandoned in
various hospitals while the remains of the murdered, with the exception of late
Miss Nkiruka Ikeanyionwu; are still lying uncared at various morgues in Onitsha
and its environs. The authorities of the Nigerian Army, Police and Navy, whose
officers participated in the dastardly act in Onitsha, are defiantly busy
dishing out ceaseless tissues of lie for the purpose of watering down their
involvement or extricating themselves from individual and vicarious
responsibilities.
The Buhari’s administration, on its part, is also an accomplice in
the dastardly acts. Apart from its silence of the graveyard over
the two dastardly acts; it recently threw its full support behind the use
of deadly force order on non violent and peaceful protesters issued by
its Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase. Not long ago, over one
hundred soldiers were strongly reported by the independent sources to be
missing in action and possibly killed by the Boko Haram insurgents in the
Northeast State of Borno. Despite public outcries and calls for thorough and
open investigations, till date, the Buhari administration has refused to act.
It is on these grounds that our earlier call for international
independent and credible investigation into the two massacres was
predicated. It is no longer news that the Government of Muhammadu Buhari
thrives on immorality, incompetence, human misery, unconstitutionality,
falsehood and propaganda. Asking the Buhari administration to investigate the
Zaria Shiite Massacre or the Onitsha Military/Police Killings and Shootings
will not only be counter-productive, but also amount to being a judge in
its own case(nemo judex in causa sua). To ask the Federal Government of
Nigeria under Retired Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari to look into atrocities
committed by its own public officials under its tight watch and directive; is also
tantamount to giving the same Government license to clean up its mess and
clear itself of irreparable culpability.
For instance, one of the eyewitnesses accounts exclusively
obtained by a senior reportorial staff of the Guardian Newspaper in Nigeria;
revealed that after the massacre, the rampaging soldiers that took away the
corpses to destinations best known to them; had come with military camouflages
and started putting them on some of the murdered Shiite members; with a
mischievous purpose of releasing their pictures publicly and using them as fallen
soldiers or soldiers felled by the Shiite bullets.
These explain why we opposed any form of internal investigation
under Buhari’s Presidency and called for credible and independent international
investigation. As we write, the duo of the Chief of Army Staff (Lt Gen Tukur
Buratai) and the Inspector General of Police (Mr. Solomon Arase) are still retained
in their positions by President Muhammadu Buhari; thereby rewarding them for a
job well done (massacring, killing and gravely wounding unarmed and non
violent Nigerians). With these sad developments and their presidential
abetment; our question is: what is the rationale behind calling on the
same accomplice (Buhari’s Government) to investigate atrocities committed by
its men under its seal and authority?
Further, while we commend the swift international reactions and
condemnations trailing the Zaria Massacre, we suspect a serious
conspiracy and bias of the said international reactions and condemnations over
the Onitsha Massacre and Shootings. It is obvious to all and
sundry that the reactions and condemnations of the international community
under reference are brazenly selective and discriminatory. While the Onitsha
Killings & Shootings attracted little or no international reactions
and condemnations despite strong pictorial evidence and video footages of the
murdered and the lacerated; the international reactions and condemnations
trailing the Zaria Massacre have been swift, firm and extensive.
We wish to remind members of the international community that killing and
shooting of defenseless and unarmed citizens or civilians anywhere irrespective
of their tribe or religion; is a serious threat to collective humanity
everywhere. If the Shiite Islamic Faithful in Nigeria
were given swift, firm and extensive international reactions and condemnations
because of their capacity to wreck insurgency havoc or launch armed attacks
against Nigerian State and its citizens; then such reasoning can be too
dangerous because modern violence is steadily shapeless and limitless in
application and methodology.
Finally, we restate our earlier call for international enquiries
to be carried out into the two mass murders that took place in Onitsha, Anambra
State, Southeast Nigeria on 2nd December and Zaria, Kaduna State,
Northwest Nigeria on 11th, 12th and 13th
December 2015. Such enquiries should specifically include the criminal
investigation of the duo of the COAS (Lt Gen Tukur Buratai) and IGP (Solomon
Arase) over their roles in the two mass murders and shootings. The
international enquiries under recommendation should be specifically carried out
by the United Nations; just like it did in Lebanon following the murder of its
former prime minister (Rafik Hariri) alongside 21 others in February 2005 and
in Pakistan following the murder of its former prime minister (Ms. Benazi
Bhutto) in December 2007. The results of the UN enquiries should be followed
with setting up of the Special UN Tribunal for Nigeria; to try
and punish those found individually and vicariously involved.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board
Chairman
+2348174090052
Uzochukwu
Oguejiofor-Nwonu, Esq., Head, Campaign & Publicity Department
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