Reported By Femmy Lawson
International Human Rights Vanguard (IHRV) has expressed its
concern over the use of excessive force by the Nigerian Military on armless
civilians in Nigeria. The group cited several recent instances and was
particular about the use of the Military, which led to the death and injury of
several civilians during the governorship election held in Bayelsa State,
Nigeria. The group, position was made known in Abuja on Saturday morning by its
Executive Director, Mr. Frank Edwards while giving a report of an independent
assessment, conducted after receiving complaints from people, who participated
in the December 5th 2015, governorship election in Bayelsa State.
In the report, the group recalled that the Joint Military
Task Force opened fire in some localities in the Southern Ijaw local government
area of Bayelsa State on civilians, while also aiding some known Militant in
perpetrating violence, leading to the killing five citizens, in Oporoma, the
headquarters of the Southern Ijaw local government, during the distribution of
electoral materials on Saturday, 5th December. It also recalled instances where
security forces allegedly aided the hijack of sensitive electoral materials and
the abduction of Ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC who were on election duties in the local government.
The group further said that the events of Southern Ijaw
Local government, during that election was a sad reminder of the past
incidences of electoral violence, that characterized the do or die regimes when
the army applied unreasonable force against defenseless citizens who are only
out to exercise their legitimate franchise.
“We strongly feel, that mobilising troops on an election day
to harass innocent citizens without any iota of
confrontation was clearly an indefensible act of Military aggression
which should be condemned by all those who place any value on human lives and
tenets of democracy” the group said.
The group therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to
immediately, institute a judicial probe into the conduct of the Military during
the Bayelsa election, with a view to serving justice for the dead and injured
ones, and ensuring that such conducts does not repeat itself, during future
elections in the Country.
The group noted that any country that turns a blind eye to
such unwarranted maiming and killings of its citizens will lose its humanity
and encourage anarchy from its citizens.
The group therefore gave the Federal government, an
ultimatum of seven days to institute the probe into the atrocities committed on
the people, during the elections in the Southern Ijaw Local government area of
Bayelsa State as it said, it will not hesitate to drag the Nigerian Military to
the International Criminal Court (ICC) with the overwhelming evidences on its
hand, for crimes against Humanity, if the Federal government fails to act.
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