Nigerian Army’s crackdown killed thousands of peaceful pro-Biafra activists, – Onyeagbor Okorie Ernest
Onyeagbor Okorie Ernest
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 1000 peaceful pro-Biafra protesters in the south East of the country, according to an investigation by The Voice of Freedom.
Analysis of videos , pictures and eye witness testimonies relating to demonstrations and other gatherings in August 2014 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 150 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 990 deaths and we fear the actual total might be far higher,” said Onyeagbor , The Voice of Freedom
“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 1500 deaths and we fear the actual total might be far higher
The fearless Investigative Journalist from The Voice of Freedom said ”
Since August 2014, 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 . He remains in detention.”
Extrajudicial executions
By far the largest number of pro-Biafra activists were killed on Biafra Remembrance Day on 30 May 2014 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. The Voice of Freedom has not been able to verify the exact number of extrajudicial executions, but estimates that at least 600people were killed and 700 injured in these two days. The real number is likely to be higher.
Mrs Etumudor Obiageri a 58 year-old mother of 5 told The Voice of Freedom that her son left in the morning to go to work but called her shortly afterwards to say that the military had apprehended him . He said he was in a military vehicle with six others, She told The Voice of Freedom that “he started whispering and said they just stopped [the vehicle]. He was scared they would kill kill them. He paused and told me they were coming closer. I heard gunshots and I did not hear a word from him after that.”
Mrs Etumudor searched and found his son in a police station in Asaba. The police told her that the military had brought him and 3 others with 2 dead members of IPOB deposited in the Mortuary.
The Voice of Freedom has also reviewed videos of a peaceful gathering of IPOB members and supporters at Onitsha National High School on 9 February 2014. 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 Onitsha 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 Benin / Asaba 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 Onyeagbor
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 Onitsha High School protest, the military applied tactics designed to kill and neutralize an enemy, rather than to ensure public order at a peaceful event.
All IPOB gatherings documented by The Voice of Freedom were largely peaceful. In those cases where there were pockets of violence, it was mostly in reaction to shooting by the security forces.
The Voice of Freedom 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 The Voice of Freedom Reporter.
“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.”
Written by Voice of Freedom, Onyeagbor Okorie Ernest
