An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International has confirmed that
the Nigerian army gunned down unarmed people ahead of last month’s planned
pro-Biafran commemoration events in Onitsha, Anambra state.
Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, morgues and hospitals confirms that
between 29-30 May 2016, the Nigerian military opened fire on members of
the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), supporters and bystanders at three
locations in the town.
“Opening fire on peaceful IPOB supporters and bystanders who clearly posed
no threat to anyone is an outrageous use of unnecessary and excessive
force and resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. In one incident one
person was shot dead after the authorities burst in on them while they
slept,” said M.K. Ibrahim, Country Director of Amnesty International
Nigeria.
“These shootings, some of which may amount to extrajudicial executions,
must be urgently and independently investigated and anyone suspected of
criminal responsibility must be brought to justice.”
The exact number of deaths is unknown, partly due to the fact that the
Nigerian army took away corpses and the injured.
Amnesty International has received reports from various sources on the
ground alleging that at least 40 people were killed and more than 50
injured.
After visits to hospitals and morgues, the organization has confirmed –
based on this initial investigation – that at least 17 people were killed
and nearly 50 injured. The real number is likely to be higher.
Some of the dead and injured IPOB supporters seen by an Amnesty
International researcher were shot in the back, an indication that they
were fleeing the scene when they were shot.
The leadership of IPOB claim more than 50 of their members were killed.
The Nigerian army has said in a statement that they acted in self-defence,
and five IPOB members were killed.
However, Amnesty International has seen no evidence that the killings were
necessary to protect life. Although the police also claim that IPOB
supporters killed two policemen the next day in neighbouring Asaba, Delta
state, Amnesty International cannot confirm this claim.
However, such killings would not substantiate the army’s argument they
acted in self-defence.
A joint security operation was carried out by the Nigerian army, police
and navy between the night of 29 May and throughout 30 May, apparently
intended to prevent a march by IPOB members from the Nkpor motor park to a
nearby field for a rally. Before the march began the military raided homes
and a church where IPOB members were sleeping.
IPOB supporters told Amnesty International that hundreds of people who had
come from neighbouring states, were asleep in the St Edmunds Catholic
church when soldiers stormed the compound on 29 May.
“I saw one boy trying to answer a question. He immediately raised his
hands, but the soldiers opened fire…He lay down, lifeless. I saw this
myself”, a witness to the shootings, said.
A 32-year-old hair dresser who was in the church told Amnesty
International: “At about midnight we heard someone banging the door. We
refused to open the door but they forced the door open and started
throwing teargas. They also started shooting inside the compound. People
were running to escape. I saw one guy shot in the stomach. He fell down
but the teargas could not allow people to help him. I did not know what
happened to the guy as I escaped and ran away.”
Another witness told Amnesty International that on the morning of 30 May,
he saw soldiers open fire on a group of around 20 men and boys aged
between 15 and 45 at the Nkpor Motor Park on the morning of 30 May. He
says that five of them were killed.“I stood about two poles [approximately
100 metres] away from where the men were being shot and killed. I couldn’t
quite hear what they were asking the boys, but I saw one boy trying to
answer a question. He immediately raised his hands, but the soldiers
opened fire…He lay down, lifeless. I saw this myself.”
The witness described how military officers loaded men with gunshot wounds
into one van, and what appeared to be corpses into another.
Later that morning, another witness described how police shot a child
bystander as a group of young men protested the shootings, blocking a road
and burning tyres along the Eke-Nkpor junction.
He told Amnesty International: “I heard a police siren and everybody
started running helter-skelter. I ran away with other people, but before
we left, the police fired tear gas at us and shot a boy in my presence. He
was just hawking in the street. He wasn’t even there to protest,” he said.
An Amnesty International researcher visited three hospitals in Onitsha and
surrounding towns and saw 41 men being treated for gunshot wounds in the
stomach, shoulder, leg, back and ankle. The researcher also visited
mortuaries in Onitsha and saw five corpses with bullet wounds, all brought
in by IPOB members on 30 May.
Amnesty International has been informed that many of those killed or
injured are still held by the military and police. Several witnesses said
that the military loaded corpses in their vehicles and took them to
Onitsha military barracks. Amnesty International was not able to confirm
this.
One witness told Amnesty International that around 30 people were held in
the military barracks, while another witness said 23 people who were held
in State Criminal Investigation Department were brought to court.
Following the shootings, the military told media sources that the soldiers
only opened fire after being shot at first, but Amnesty International’s
research has found no evidence to support this. All the people the
organization interviewed said that the protesters were not armed; one
young man said that he threw stones at the police and military after they
shot teargas at the IPOB members. He said the military then fired live
ammunition in return.
“This is not the first time that IPOB supporters have died at the hands of
the military. It is becoming a worrying pattern and this incident and
others must be immediately investigated”
MK Ibrahim
Information gathered by Amnesty International indicates that the deaths of
supporters and members of IPOB was the consequence of excessive, and
unnecessary use of force.
International law requires the government to promptly investigate unlawful
killings with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice. Amnesty
International is also calling for those IPOB supporters still held in
detention without charge to be either immediately charged or released.
“This is not the first time that IPOB supporters have died at the hands of
the military. It is becoming a worrying pattern and this incident and
others must be immediately investigated,” said M. K. Ibrahim.
“In addition there must be an end to the pattern of increased
militarization of crowd control operations as soldiers are frequently
deployed to undertake routine policing functions.”
Background
Amnesty International interviewed 32 witnesses between 1-3 June in Onitsha
and an additional five people on the phone.
The IPOB members had informed the Anambra State Police Commissioner of
their plans for Biafra Remembrance day and requested for security to be
provided for the procession.
Amnesty International has been conducting research into violence and
killings of IPOB members and supporters in south east Nigeria since
January 2016. A comprehensive report will be published in the near future.
The organization’s research shows that since August 2015, there have been
at least five similar incidents in Onitsha alone where the police and
military shot unarmed IPOB members and supporters. Amnesty International
has documented cases of alleged unlawful killings by the Nigerian army
between August 2015 and May 2016.
In August 2015, military officers opened fire on peaceful supporters of
IPOB calling for an independent Biafran state. The killings and mass
arrests of members and supporters of IPOB by a joint military and police
operations continued in October, November and December 2015.
On 17 December 2015 for example, the military killed five people when they
opened fire on members of the IPOB who were demonstrating in Onitsha in a
celebration of a court order for the release of their purported leader,
Nnamdi Kanu.
In February 2016, the Nigerian military used excessive force to disperse a
peaceful gathering in a school compound in Aba. At least nine people were
killed and many more injured.
The Nigerian government has not conducted any independent investigation
into any of these incidents.
The right to peaceful assembly and association, as well as the right of
freedom of expression, is protected by the Nigerian constitution.
International human rights standards also require that law enforcement
officials must, as far as possible, apply nonviolent means. The
intentional lethal use of firearms is only permissible when strictly
unavoidable in order to protect life.
Amnesty International