An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International has confirmed that<\/p>\n
the Nigerian army gunned down unarmed people ahead of last month\u2019s planned
\npro-Biafran commemoration events in Onitsha, Anambra state.<\/p>\n
Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, morgues and hospitals confirms that
\nbetween 29-30 May 2016, the Nigerian military opened fire on members of
\nthe Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), supporters and bystanders at three
\nlocations in the town.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpening fire on peaceful IPOB supporters and bystanders who clearly posed
\nno threat to anyone is an outrageous use of unnecessary and excessive
\nforce and resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. In one incident one
\nperson was shot dead after the authorities burst in on them while they
\nslept,\u201d said M.K. Ibrahim, Country Director of Amnesty International
\nNigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese shootings, some of which may amount to extrajudicial executions,
\nmust be urgently and independently investigated and anyone suspected of
\ncriminal responsibility must be brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exact number of deaths is unknown, partly due to the fact that the
\nNigerian army took away corpses and the injured.<\/p>\n
Amnesty International has received reports from various sources on the
\nground alleging that at least 40 people were killed and more than 50
\ninjured.
\nAfter visits to hospitals and morgues, the organization has confirmed –
\nbased on this initial investigation – that at least 17 people were killed
\nand nearly 50 injured. The real number is likely to be higher.<\/p>\n
Some of the dead and injured IPOB supporters seen by an Amnesty
\nInternational researcher were shot in the back, an indication that they
\nwere fleeing the scene when they were shot.<\/p>\n
The leadership of IPOB claim more than 50 of their members were killed.
\nThe Nigerian army has said in a statement that they acted in self-defence,
\nand five IPOB members were killed.<\/p>\n
However, Amnesty International has seen no evidence that the killings were
\nnecessary to protect life. Although the police also claim that IPOB
\nsupporters killed two policemen the next day in neighbouring Asaba, Delta
\nstate, Amnesty International cannot confirm this claim.<\/p>\n
However, such killings would not substantiate the army\u2019s argument they
\nacted in self-defence.<\/p>\n
A joint security operation was carried out by the Nigerian army, police
\nand navy between the night of 29 May and throughout 30 May, apparently
\nintended to prevent a march by IPOB members from the Nkpor motor park to a
\nnearby field for a rally. Before the march began the military raided homes
\nand a church where IPOB members were sleeping.<\/p>\n
IPOB supporters told Amnesty International that hundreds of people who had
\ncome from neighbouring states, were asleep in the St Edmunds Catholic
\nchurch when soldiers stormed the compound on 29 May.<\/p>\n
“I saw one boy trying to answer a question. He immediately raised his
\nhands, but the soldiers opened fire\u2026He lay down, lifeless. I saw this
\nmyself”, a witness to the shootings, said.<\/p>\n
A 32-year-old hair dresser who was in the church told Amnesty
\nInternational: \u201cAt about midnight we heard someone banging the door. We
\nrefused to open the door but they forced the door open and started
\nthrowing teargas. They also started shooting inside the compound. People
\nwere running to escape. I saw one guy shot in the stomach. He fell down
\nbut the teargas could not allow people to help him. I did not know what
\nhappened to the guy as I escaped and ran away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another witness told Amnesty International that on the morning of 30 May,
\nhe saw soldiers open fire on a group of around 20 men and boys aged
\nbetween 15 and 45 at the Nkpor Motor Park on the morning of 30 May. He
\nsays that five of them were killed.\u201cI stood about two poles [approximately
\n100 metres] away from where the men were being shot and killed. I couldn\u2019t
\nquite hear what they were asking the boys, but I saw one boy trying to
\nanswer a question. He immediately raised his hands, but the soldiers
\nopened fire\u2026He lay down, lifeless. I saw this myself.\u201d
\nThe witness described how military officers loaded men with gunshot wounds
\ninto one van, and what appeared to be corpses into another.<\/p>\n
Later that morning, another witness described how police shot a child
\nbystander as a group of young men protested the shootings, blocking a road
\nand burning tyres along the Eke-Nkpor junction.<\/p>\n
He told Amnesty International: \u201cI heard a police siren and everybody
\nstarted running helter-skelter. I ran away with other people, but before
\nwe left, the police fired tear gas at us and shot a boy in my presence. He
\nwas just hawking in the street. He wasn\u2019t even there to protest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
An Amnesty International researcher visited three hospitals in Onitsha and
\nsurrounding towns and saw 41 men being treated for gunshot wounds in the
\nstomach, shoulder, leg, back and ankle. The researcher also visited
\nmortuaries in Onitsha and saw five corpses with bullet wounds, all brought
\nin by IPOB members on 30 May.<\/p>\n
Amnesty International has been informed that many of those killed or
\ninjured are still held by the military and police. Several witnesses said
\nthat the military loaded corpses in their vehicles and took them to
\nOnitsha military barracks. Amnesty International was not able to confirm
\nthis.<\/p>\n
One witness told Amnesty International that around 30 people were held in
\nthe military barracks, while another witness said 23 people who were held
\nin State Criminal Investigation Department were brought to court.<\/p>\n
Following the shootings, the military told media sources that the soldiers
\nonly opened fire after being shot at first, but Amnesty International\u2019s
\nresearch has found no evidence to support this. All the people the
\norganization interviewed said that the protesters were not armed; one
\nyoung man said that he threw stones at the police and military after they
\nshot teargas at the IPOB members. He said the military then fired live
\nammunition in return.<\/p>\n
“This is not the first time that IPOB supporters have died at the hands of
\nthe military. It is becoming a worrying pattern and this incident and
\nothers must be immediately investigated”<\/p>\n
MK Ibrahim<\/p>\n
Information gathered by Amnesty International indicates that the deaths of
\nsupporters and members of IPOB was the consequence of excessive, and
\nunnecessary use of force.<\/p>\n
International law requires the government to promptly investigate unlawful
\nkillings with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice. Amnesty
\nInternational is also calling for those IPOB supporters still held in
\ndetention without charge to be either immediately charged or released.
\n\u201cThis is not the first time that IPOB supporters have died at the hands of
\nthe military. It is becoming a worrying pattern and this incident and
\nothers must be immediately investigated,\u201d said M. K. Ibrahim.
\n\u201cIn addition there must be an end to the pattern of increased
\nmilitarization of crowd control operations as soldiers are frequently
\ndeployed to undertake routine policing functions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Background
\nAmnesty International interviewed 32 witnesses between 1-3 June in Onitsha
\nand an additional five people on the phone.
\nThe IPOB members had informed the Anambra State Police Commissioner of
\ntheir plans for Biafra Remembrance day and requested for security to be
\nprovided for the procession.
\nAmnesty International has been conducting research into violence and
\nkillings of IPOB members and supporters in south east Nigeria since
\nJanuary 2016. A comprehensive report will be published in the near future.
\nThe organization\u2019s research shows that since August 2015, there have been
\nat least five similar incidents in Onitsha alone where the police and
\nmilitary shot unarmed IPOB members and supporters. Amnesty International
\nhas documented cases of alleged unlawful killings by the Nigerian army
\nbetween August 2015 and May 2016.
\nIn August 2015, military officers opened fire on peaceful supporters of
\nIPOB calling for an independent Biafran state. The killings and mass
\narrests of members and supporters of IPOB by a joint military and police
\noperations continued in October, November and December 2015.
\nOn 17 December 2015 for example, the military killed five people when they
\nopened fire on members of the IPOB who were demonstrating in Onitsha in a
\ncelebration of a court order for the release of their purported leader,
\nNnamdi Kanu.
\nIn February 2016, the Nigerian military used excessive force to disperse a
\npeaceful gathering in a school compound in Aba. At least nine people were
\nkilled and many more injured.
\nThe Nigerian government has not conducted any independent investigation
\ninto any of these incidents.
\nThe right to peaceful assembly and association, as well as the right of
\nfreedom of expression, is protected by the Nigerian constitution.
\nInternational human rights standards also require that law enforcement
\nofficials must, as far as possible, apply nonviolent means. The
\nintentional lethal use of firearms is only permissible when strictly
\nunavoidable in order to protect life.<\/p>\n
Amnesty International<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International has confirmed that the Nigerian army gunned down unarmed people ahead of last month\u2019s planned pro-Biafran commemoration events in Onitsha, Anambra state. Evidence gathered…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n