RULAAC, others petition NHRC to probe ‘systematic’ human rights violations in South East
By Jeffrey Agbo
Civil society organisations and other concerned groups and citizens have petitioned the Executive Secretary of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate what they described as actions amounting to systematic human rights violations in the South East.
They wrote to the NHRC in a letter dated June 19, 2024, which was made available to TheNiche.
They said they were “alarmed by frequent incidents of organized attacks, killings, extortion, sexual violence, and destruction of properties in the Southeast, portending far-reaching human rights violations.”
According to them, “We are concerned by the oppressive atmosphere of siege, impunity and fear partly engendered by the federal government’s single narrative that narrows insecurity in the southeast almost exclusively to the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). This single narrative explains why the federal government ignores other drivers and dimensions of insecurity and the need for a holistic and multidimensional approach. It also informs federal government’s tendency to solely deploy force in its response to insecurity, and its neglect of community engagement and dialogue, as well as addressing the socio-economic and political root causes and drivers of crime and insecurity.
“This approach has contributed to escalating insecurity, fuelling the cycle of violence and resulting in gross human rights violations. The federal government’s penchant for deploying ‘special military operations’ such as ‘Operation Egwu Eke (Python dance)’, Operation Crocodile Smile, as well as special police peration, ‘Operation Restore Peace’ for the southeast underscores this narrative and its shortcomings. We recall that while launching the special police operation in Enugu in 2021, the then Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba directed police officers thus: ‘Don’t mind the media shout; do the job I command you. If anyone accuses you of human rights violation, the report will come to my table and you know what I will do. So, take the battle to them wherever they are and kill them all. Don’t wait for an order.’ (See Punch Newspaper of 19 May 2021 https://punchng.com/ig-declares-war-on-biafran-agitators-criminal-elements/).
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“The IGP in issuing that reckless directive said it was in compliance with President Buhari’s previous ‘shoot-on-sight’ order issued to security forces against IPOB. The outcome of these orders has been a floodgate of mass raids and indiscriminate arrests and detention in inhuman and degrading conditions; torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. There are also indications that security agents exploit the opportunity for self-enrichment, including extortion of huge sums of money from family members of detained victims. The ubiquity and widespread presence of security checkpoints along all interstate highways and inner city roads across states in the southeast contribute to the atmosphere of militarisation, siege and shrinking civic space.”
They mentioned some of the notable recent cases of what they perceived as serial abuse of human rights in the region as follows: the invasion of Igga Community in Enugu State by security forces in May 2023 in search of criminals; alleged killings in Nimbo Community in Enugu State in April 2024; alleged massacres arising from persistent Ezza-Effium and Ezza- Ezeilo conflicts in Ebonyi State; extortion and harassment of citizens at numerous checkpoints among others.
The petition further read, “It has become imperative that the National Human Rights Commission appoints a prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigation of the human rights violations related to the cases that we have catalogued and many others. Such an investigation will be consistent with the mandate of the Commission to deal with all matters related to the promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international treaties.
“This investigation will be with a view to identifing the root causes of the attacks, the perpetrators, the victims and the effects on livelihoods, wellbeing and development of the affected communities and to recommend appropriate and adequate measures to ensure remedies for victims and the communities, bring perpetrators to justice and end the attacks and violations.”
The signatories to the petition are Okechukwu Nwanguma for Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Lagos; Emeka Nwanevu for Initiative for Public Safety, Security and Educational Development in Nigeria (IPSSED Network), Enugu; Onyinyechi Nwosu for Vivacious Development Initiative (VIDI), Abia; Chuka Okoye: CEHRAWS, Abia State; and Comrade Nelson Nwafor for Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development FENRAD Nigeria Abia State.
Others are Nnaemeka Onyejiuwa for CCIDESOR, Owerri Imo State; Obialunanma Nnaobi-Ayodele; Meluibe Foundation, Abuja; Alliance for Inclusive Development-AidAfrica, Abuja; and African Law Foundation (AFRILAW), Enugu.