News
CLO cautions FG against killing of Biafra agitators
Published
9 years agoon
By
Olu Emmanuel• Accuses army of crime against humanity
The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) has admonished the Federal Government against killing of armless pro-Biafra agitators by security operatives. The CLO in a statement by Comrade Ibuchukwu Ohabuenyi Ezike, Executive Director, construed the shooting of armless civilians by soldiers and other security agents in Onitsha, especially, at the odd hour of 1.30am as a case of gross violation of human rights, use of excessive force and crime against humanity. “This barbaric act has no place in a modern society as it also gravely undermines all United Nations and African Union and other international, regional and national human rights mechanisms. Nothing, whatsoever, can justify this flagrant infraction on the rights of the citizens,” Ibuchukwu declared.
It was highlighted that IPOD members are protesting the continued incarceration of their leader and the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who is being arrested and detained by the Nigerian authorities since October 1, 2015.
Consequently, IPOB members who thronged the court in Abuja to cheer their leader were dismayed by the ugly development and, thereafter, marched to the British High Commission in Nigeria where they were intercepted with teargas and brutally prevented from entering the High Commission by Nigerian security operatives, CLO pointed out. It stated that over 100 IPOB members were allegedly arrested, and are still held in detention. Angered by the continued detention of Kanu in defiance of a court Order and further detention of well over 100 IPOB members, their colleagues in the South East region, the home base of IPOB, started what was described as a “Solidarity Protest” in the commercial cities of Onitsha, Aba, Nnewi and other major towns in the region.
The Onitsha Protesters were said to have blocked the head bridge area of Onitsha and prevented free flow of traffic to and fro the commercial nerve centre till their leader and members were released by the authorities. But at an odd time of 1:30 am, Wednesday, heavily armed soldiers, Navy officials, police and officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps stormed the venue of the protest and started sporadic shooting into the crowd during which time Vivian Emeka, female, 21, and nine others were heartlessly shot to death and numerous other armless citizens severely injured, CLO noted.
Moreover, Ibuchukwu stated: “on the war against corruption, while CLO maintains zero tolerance for corruption and other social vices and crimes, we shall strongly continue to disassociate ourselves from the violation of our laws and human rights on the altar of fighting graft and other crimes in Nigeria. CLO, in a very strong term, condemns this abuse of the Constitution by the Nigerian authorities and demands the return to the use of due process and respect for the rule law in addressing corruption issues.” He observed that this kind of exercise was last experienced in Nigeria in 1999 and 2000 when the Obasanjo administration declared onslaught on Odi community in Bayelsa State and Zaki-Biam in Benue State through executive terror and lawlessness.
“We urge the Nigerian government to deploy the energies and resources being wasted on armless citizens to confronting more serious issues of Boko Haram and other criminal elements whose activities terrorise and ravage our country, which have turned our young soldiers’ wives into widows in our barracks, children into orphans and our communities into IDPs camps,” Ibuchukwu stated.
CLO cautioned the federal government to handle the agitation issue by the youth in the South East and any other parts of the country with care so that it does not escalate into full blown war; adding that, Nigeria cannot afford to fight two or more wars at the same time.
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