HURIWA demands probe of ESN members allegedly killed by soldiers

Prominent civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Thursday, demanded a transparent probe into the alleged killing of scores of members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), during military air raids in a community in Enugu State.

HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement, warned the military to stop killing civilians no matter the alleged offenses under the guise of being unknown gunmen and warned civilians to stop attacking soldiers.

He said scores of alleged members of Eastern Security Network (ESN), an armed wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were allegedly killed in the military air raids and allegedly buried in mass graves.

The Nigerian military was said to be in a joint operation with sister security agencies when its operatives invaded Akpawfu community in the Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State killing an undisclosed number of people and burning houses.

Reacting, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The recent alleged killing and secret burial of Igbo youths erroneously labelled as terrorists in Enugu on Saturday must be probed because in Nigeria there is no smoke without fire, particularly in the area of wanton abuses of fundamental human rights by the military during internal military operations, especially in the South East.

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“Therefore this demands a transparent probe to ascertain the veracity or otherwise. HURIWA warns the military to stop killing civilians no matter the alleged offences and warns civilians to stop attacking soldiers.

“The Enugu incident is the most recent of the cases. At least seven friends including two siblings were allegedly extra judicially executed by members of the Ebubeagu state security outfit at Awomamma community in Oru East Local Government of Imo State on 17 July 2022, according to Amnesty International.

“Amnesty International also captured the extrajudicial killings in the South-East when it said at least 115 innocent persons were tagged ‘militants’ and killed by security forces between March and June 2021 in the five states in the zone.

“Also, Intersociety alleged in January that state actors including police, soldiers, DSS operatives, amongst others, killed about 1,400 residents and torched about 1,000 homes in 100 South-East communities within 14 months. There are other scores of unreported cases.

“The extrajudicial killing of Igbo youths labelled as terrorists must stop. It is an injustice of the highest order,” HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA affirmed.