The Nigeria security agencies led by the Nigerian Army has allegedly killed no 1,400 residents and razed about 1,000 family homes in 100 Igbo communities in 14 months, a report has shown.
Security agencies that were reported involved in the massacre includes: the Nigerian Police Force, Department of the State Services (DSS), Nigerian Air Force and Nigerian Navy.
The report, tagged “Massacre In Eastern Nigeria: A Special Investigative Report”, conducted by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), a non-governmental, was released on Wednesday in Enugu, by the organisation’s Board of Trustees.
The report which was signed by Chief Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman; Chidimma Udegbunam, Head of Campaign and Publicity; Chinwe Umeche, Head of Democracy and Government; Obianuju Igboeli, Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law; and Chinaza Bernard, Head of Int’l Justice and Human Rights Program among others, also claimed that 4,800 civilians were arrested while 1,000 were missing and could not be accounted for within the 14 months period, spanned from October 2020 till December 2021.
According to the report, “the Nigerian security forces, presently structured along Northern Muslim lines and deployed in Eastern Nigeria had in fourteen months or between late October 2020 and December 2021 killed not less than 1,150 defenseless citizens of Eastern Nigeria. All the victims are members of Judeo-Christian Faith and mostly ethnic Igbo citizens. Their killings represent monthly average of 85 deaths and daily average of three and could be monthly average of 155 and daily average of 5.5 deaths if the presumed dead 1000 missing citizens are added.
“The security forces also abducted and disappeared till date in the same past 14 months at least 1000 unarmed civilians; arrested alive and unarmed and taken into security custodies outside the knowledge of their families or lawyers, from where they have gone missing till date. Soldiers of the Nigerian Army are found to be responsible for at least 70% of their abduction and disappearances while DSS, NPF, Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Air Force are separately and jointly responsible for the remaining 30%.
“In the area of ‘perpetrator ratio’, soldiers of the Nigerian Army and various ‘special squads’ of the Nigeria Police Force are the lead-killers or perpetrators.”
The report added, “The trio of Governors Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and David Umahi of Ebonyi State are the most vicariously culpable governors that aided and abetted the killings and property destruction including burning of civilian homes and sanctuaries.
“On the other hand, the widely believed Nigerian State protected Jihadists especially the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen are responsible for hacking to death in 2021 alone of at least 270 Igbo Christians. Their death had majorly occurred in Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Igbo parts of Delta, Edo (Obiaruku and Igbo-Akiri), Benue and Kogi States. The killings by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen have brought the total number of defenseless citizens traceably killed in Eastern Nigeria in the past 14 months to at least 1,400. This is when added to 1,150 defenseless civilian deaths perpetrated by security forces.”
The report also noted that the number of people killed could rose to 2,400 when 1000 people missing where added to the number traced to been killed by the security agencies.
“This is on account of the fact that the not less than 1000 missing persons are likely to have been killed in custodies and most unlikely to be returned alive to their families again. This is more so when strong evidence abounds showing no traces of location and securing the release of citizens abducted by soldiers of the Nigerian Army in Eastern Nigeria since January 2021.”
The report said that the Nigerian Army which carried out the highest abduction, hardly handover or transfer those arrested or abducted to the Police. “From our investigation, most, if not all those abducted by them since January 2021 have never been located by families or seen alive till date.”
The report further revealed that after the Army’s war grade attack on Obigbo, River State in late October to early November 2020, dozens of the people arrested including women and children died in different secret military custodies within and outside Eastern Nigeria, “not less than 550 of the abductees were later independently located, out of the number, 418 were freed through courts and 95-100 others were discovered in late November 2021 to have been dumped in Kaduna Prisons and Lock Centers. Over 40 of the abductees were also found to have been killed in custody through torture and infliction of injuries as well as starvation and lack of medical treatment.”
The report also accused Nigerian Army of holding their abductees for over a year through intra and inter-agency detention transfers, during which the abductees are secretly held without trial in several military and security agencies’ detention facilities leading to scores of custodial deaths.
On the burning of villages and community houses, the report claimed that of over 100 Igbo communities security forces invaded in the past 14 months, not less than 1000 homes or dwelling houses were raided and razed during which properties what billions of naira were destroyed.
“From our conservative estimates, each house, its land and properties is worth not less than N35m, translating to N35b for the estimated 1000 dwelling houses destroyed or burnt down. The remaining N5b arises from other outside-the-house properties destroyed or burnt down including market stores and their wares-totaling N40 billion as total properties’ value lost in the hands of the Nigerian security forces particularly soldiers of the Nigerian Army and other branches of the Armed Forces.”
When contacted the Director Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, described the allegations as outrageous and defective.
Nwachukwu said, “these allegations are not only outrageous, but cannot hold water. The Joint Operations led by the Nigerian Army and other security agencies have never targeted any defenceless and innocent Igbo person or group of persons as alleged. Rather, the troops have operated with a very clear mandate to rid the South East of criminals and stem the violent activities of members of the proscribed Indegenous People of Biafra and other dissident groups.
“These are groups that claim they are fighting for the emancipation of Ndigbos, but sadly their activities have been characterised by violent annihilation of Ndigbos, cold and bloody murder of security operatives and other innocent Nigerians. These are criminals who have used the force of arm to rob, loot and dispossess people of their earnings and belongings.
“We are talking about lawless people, who have desecrated the sanctity of Ndigbo traditional institution by abducting, torturing and murdering their very own traditional leaders in cold blood. These are cannibals, who killed Nigerians, butchered their bodies, roasted and feasted on them. Most infuriating, is that they video recorded and disseminated it on the social media.
“How could any right thinking person refer to these callous criminals as innocent and defenceless. This apparently smacks of mischief and possibly ominous undertones. These criminals and murderers cannot by any stretch of imagination be tagged innocent or defenceless ndigbos. To do so, will amount to an assault on the psyche of ndigbos and Nigerians who have been victims of the violent activities of these dissident groups.
“Those who shut down ndigbos’ businesses and enterprises, criminals who denied ndigbos’ the liberty to walk the streets, who violated and abused ndigbos, are these the people you refer to as innocent and defenceless. The said allegation is nothing but a dereliction of the truth and bereft of the reality of the actual situation in the South East.”
However, CP Frank Mba, the Spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force, did not take his calls or respond to text message.
