Investigate extrajudicial killing of pro-Biafra protesters--Amnesty Tells Tinubu

Investigate extrajudicial killing of pro-Biafra protesters--Amnesty Tells Tinubu Amnesty International Nigeria has asked President Bola Tinu...

Investigate extrajudicial killing of pro-Biafra protesters--Amnesty Tells Tinubu

Amnesty International Nigeria has asked President Bola Tinubu to investigate extrajudicial killings in south-east Nigeria.

The human rights group said in a statement posted on its X handle on Thursday that Nigerian security forces led by the military carried out “extrajudicial executions and violence” in the region from August 2015 to August 2016.

It said at least 150 “peaceful pro-Biafra protesters” in the South- east were killed by the security forces during the operations within the period.

Giving an instance of the extrajudicial killings, Amnesty said residents of Abia State discovered 13 corpses in a pit along the Aba – Port Harcourt Expressway on 13 February 2016, four days after shootings at the National High School in Aba, the commercial hub of the South-eastern state.

“Amnesty International repeatedly called on the government of Nigeria to initiate independent investigations into evidence of crimes under international law, and former President (Muhammadu) Buhari repeatedly promised that Amnesty International reports would be looked into.

“However, no investigation (was conducted). No justice for victims and their families,” the group said.

“To uphold human rights, @officialabat (Tinubu) must investigate this and other gross human rights violations to tame impunity and ensure justice,” it added.

Background

Several groups have sprung up in the South-east, agitating for an independent state of Biafra which they want carved out of the South-east and some parts of the south-south.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is among the groups leading the agitation.

Nigerian security agencies have been linked to the killing of innocent residents in the South-east in an attempt to clamp down on the secessionist groups in the region.

PREMIUM TIMES in 2016, for instance, published a detailed report on the massive extrajudicial killings in the South-east.

The report captured how a group of soldiers stationed at the Head Bridge Market, Anambra State, on 17 December 2015, opened fire on jubilant crowds who had poured out into the streets of Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra State, to celebrate a court ruling in favour of the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained IPOB leader.

Three people died instantly while five more bodies were discovered meters away from the scene, bringing to eight the number of people killed on the spot, according to the report.