Date Published: 05/25/09

20/5/09 Joint Press Statement

Ijaw People’s Association of Great Britain & Ireland and

Bayelsa State Union of Great Britain & Ireland

THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AND ITS ACTS OF GENOCIDE & TERROR AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF THE NIGER DELTA

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The Ijaw People’s Association and Bayelsa State Union, all of Great Britain and Ireland are greatly concerned about the reports reaching us that the Nigerian Armed Forces in the form of the Joint Task Force (JTF) for the Niger Delta is attacking and invading a number of towns and villages in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State Nigeria, from Wednesday 13 up till now, Thursday 21 May 2009. These towns and villages comprise of Oporoza and satellite villages of Gbaranmatu kingdom in the said local government area. We are greatly alarmed and shocked, because the attacks and invasion with the attendant destruction of lives and property were unprovoked, and seemed to have been planned for quite a while.

The JTF spoke-person issued a statement that “militants or oil thieves attacked their forward base and that the JTF was going after them and flushing out the said militants or oil thieves”; but we find this utterly unacceptable, and it is a deception to justify this premeditated terror campaign against defenceless communities in the Western Niger Delta, because of the oil beneath their feet.

The JTF needs to explain to the whole world why it needed to use jet fighters and helicopter gun-ships to flush out ‘oil thieves’ by bombing and mowed down innocent civilian villagers who had gathered at Oporoza for a traditional cultural event? It is clear that the Nigerian President ordered the JTF to commit these atrocities to the people of Gbaranmatu Kingdom in order to protect the vested interests in the military oil bunkering operations. The government of Nigeria has been consistent in its brutality of the people of the Niger Delta, which started with the Ogoni-land invasions, the invasion of Kaiama, the attack and complete destruction of Odi, the destructions of towns and villages in Kalabari kingdom in eastern Niger Delta, and now the obliteration of Oporoza and Gbaranmatu Kingdom.

CONTINUED DECEPTION

The Nigerian Government continues to deceive the whole World that the JTF is stationed in the Niger Delta to prevent crude oil theft and protect oil installations from Niger Delta militants. This is laughable, when in reality, it is clear that the JTF is stationed in the Niger Delta to protect the oil bunkering interests of federal government officials, former and present serving military officers and politicians connected to the current government. These are the real oil thieves. It is even more laughable that the federal government claim to be spending over 400 billion naira a year on security in the Niger Delta, when security has actually been taken away from the people by the JTF. It is universally known that there are some criminal elements that are involved in oil theft, but that is no reason for the annihilation of an entire already-suffering people who has nothing to do with the corrupt and bankrupt politics of the Nigerian Federation. Basically, these long-suffering people of Oporoza and Gbaranmatu kingdom are killed doubly. People should make President Musa Yar’Adua understand this sort of behaviour is not acceptable in civilised and democratic countries.

In order to justify its continued presence in the Niger Delta, the JTF periodically manufacture conflict scenarios in order to perpetrate hostilities. Delta State was enjoying a long period of relative peace and reconciliation and the Governor of Delta State had recently called upon the Nigerian Government to withdraw the JTF from the state, as the area was now peaceful. There was no independent confirmation that militants attacked the JTF, prior to this invasion, and no militant group has come forward to claim responsibility for the supposed attack on the JTF(apart from the JTF claim that e-mail messages received by it, is supposed to be from a militant source). The latest murderous act by the JTF has gone too far, and it is time to bring Mr Yar’Adua and the JTF to order.

Therefore, the Ijaw People’s Association of Great Britain and Ireland and the Bayelsa State Union of Great Britain and Ireland strongly and utterly condemn these outrageous actions of barbarism by President Yar’Adua and the JTF. This is a complete betrayal of trust by Mr Yar’Adua to find a permanent and lasting solution to the Niger Delta problems. It is clear that all along, the Yar’Adua Administration and successive Nigerian Governments have been deceiving the Nigerian people and the whole world as to their sincerity in resolving the issues in the Niger Delta.

We strongly condemn the deliberate and planned killing of innocent Nigerian civilians and the mass destruction of property by the JTF. We strongly condemn the criminal use of force by the Nigerian Armed Forces. Our thoughts are with the families of the many women, children and innocent people that have been killed by the Government of Nigeria. We believe that attacking and punishing whole communities because of a few criminals is the most barbaric and undemocratic method in controlling law and order. Mr Yar’adua should know that no country that aspire to be regarded as civilised and democratic, trains its army to kill its own people. The role of the army is to defence its country from external aggression.

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We fear that these atrocities that have been committed by Mr Yar’Adua and his government would:-

We want a situation, where every single part of Nigeria is as developed as Western Europe and North America, because Nigeria can achieve that if the politicians gain sanity. We also believe that the Niger Delta should be treated specially and with respect (as other civilised countries do); as it is the bread basket of Nigeria and it is its people that face the dire consequences of negligent oil exploration practices of the oil companies in the Niger Delta. Thus, the current invasion and the ongoing killing and destruction of towns in the Niger Delta, is a direct attack on the development of Nigeria as a whole, because the consequences of these atrocities could be far reaching for Nigeria’s progress.

We therefore, call on every well-meaning Nigerian to condemn these atrocities that are perpetrated by Mr Yar’Adua and the Nigeria military. We want the good people of Nigeria and the international community to educate the President that proper governance of a country is more than sending tanks, bombs and bullets. True power comes when you have been able to provide to the Nigerian people constant electricity, clear water, good healthcare and good education. The truth is the Mr Yar’Adua has failed in his role as the Chief Provider and Protector of his people.

If it transpires that genocide or crimes against humanity was committed (as we are hearing), we will work rigorously towards mobilising the people of the civilised world to bring to the International Criminal Court, Mr Yar’Adua, military officers, ministers, advisers, politicians and any other persons that are involved in promoting, encouraging, facilitating, aiding or abetting the perpetration of these gruesome acts of barbarism. The 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide is clear as indicated below:-

Article 1

The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.

Article 2

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Article 3

The following acts shall be punishable:

(a) Genocide;

(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;

(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;

(d ) Attempt to commit genocide;

(e) Complicity in genocide.

Article 4

Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.

According to the UN Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, 1968, there is no time limitation on when criminal proceedings can be brought against the perpetrators of War Crime, Crimes Against Human and Crime of Genocide. The offices are committed under international law whether or not local law did not recognise the atrocities as offences. Genocide is Crimes Against Humanity. The Nigerian Government ratified this Convention on 1 st December 1970.

We believe that Nigerian will never be prosperous economically or politically, with a president that is clueless in the effective management of his people and the economy. Vision 2020 is dead and buried.

May God bless the people of the Niger Delta, and may God bless the ordinary hard working good people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that are constantly been deceived and humiliated by crooked successive Nigerian governments.

Signed by:

Mr Benaebi Benatari

Secretary

Ijaw Peoples Association of Great Britain and Ireland

www.ijawland.com

Mr Ebiye Asuka

Secretary

Bayelsa State Union of Great Britain and Ireland

www.bayelsa.org.uk