There is “ongoing military terrorism in Obigbo, Rivers State”, according to the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety).

The rights group in a Special Statement issued in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, yesterday, Tuesday, November 3, 2020, blamed Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, for the development, even as it identified Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as the chief architect of the alleged military terrorism in Obigbo.

“Contrary to COAS, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai’s recent directive to his principal officers “not to be afraid of being blacklisted or sanctioned internationally in the course of defending Nigeria including its ‘indivisibility’; his directive is remorseless and blanket order capable of instigating more slaughtering by soldiers of defenseless citizens especially on the grounds of their ethnicity and religion. A clear case in point is the ongoing military terrorism in Obigbo, Rivers State. The COAS statement that: “he does not mind spending the rest of his life in Nigeria” is a welcome development. We wish to add that justice for any atrocity or grisly conduct crimes chief perpetrator does not care about his or her location. The leader of Sudanese “Janjaweed” terror militia, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (“Ali Kushayb”) was recently arrested in Sudan and taken to ICC for his genocidal role in the Darfur massacre that took place about fifteen years ago. That is to say that grisly crime against humanity, when committed or perpetrated, does not have expiring dates so long as it is forensically documented and archived,” Intersociety said in the statement signed by the group’s principal officers; Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche, Esq, Obianuju Igboeli, Esq., Ndidiamaka Bernard, Esq., and Comrade Sam Kamanyaoku.

Coming down hard on Wike, Intersociety said: “With the ongoing reign of military terror in Obigbo and environs, involving credible reports of killings, sexual harassments, house breaking, looting, mass arrests, torture and disappearances by Nigerian soldiers, Gov Nyesom Wike has not only acted like an ‘unlettered lawyer’, but also goofed unpardonably in his last week instigation of the ongoing military mayhem in Obigbo and environs. He is therefore inescapably culpable, vicariously and legally speaking. A politically conscious and lettered lawyer-Gov should not have done what he did. It is a settled law and principle that no public office holder, whether elected or appointed, has a right or power to take or order for taking away of life of another or others. The Gov should have known better both as a lawyer and a politician that the present Nigerian Army, its composition and conducts are highly questionable and far from being secularity friendly.

“Apart from earning notoriety in butchering of thousands of defenseless citizens since August 2015 mostly on the grounds of their religion and tribe and provocatively denying same; the Nigerian Army has become so blood thirsty for innocent and defenseless citizens that it looks for slightest loophole or excuse or opportunity to massacre and terrorize the defenseless especially on the grounds of their tribe and religion. This time around, Gov Wike has fallen into its trap. He is also made himself a potential guest of ICC and other international justice chambers. That is to say that reasons being adduced by the Gov are utterly inexcusable, unfounded and vexatious.

“Granted that unlawful killing of service personnel including soldiers and police officers and burning of public properties are totally reprehensible and condemnable, but they did not happen as an isolated incident or restricted to Rivers State alone. They not only cut across the country, but also were instigated by the Government of Nigeria, its soldiers who massacred over fifteen peaceful protesters at Lekki Tollgate and the Islamist hoodlums allied with Nigerian Government to attack and kill protesters. For all that we know, Lagos State lost more properties and citizens than Rivers State, yet heaven has not let loose. That is not to say that those behind the dastardly act in Rivers State should be spared.

“Over 200 soldiers, conservatively speaking, have independently been confirmed killed this year alone by jihadist insurgents in Borno, Katsina, etc yet the areas where they were killed are still inhabited by humans, animals and properties. Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and their patrons have renamed and occupied over 100 communities in Southern Kaduna and over 60 in Plateau State. In Igbo Land, they, aided by the military, have violently entered and occupied bushes, forests and farmlands in over 600 communities, yet Govs of those areas and Nigerian Army have not wiped them.

“Therefore, Gov Wike acted extra-judicially by unlawfully and undemocratically arrogating to himself power of “investigator, prosecutor, judge and hangman”; a training and expertise he never has. His accusing fingers at the so called “IPOB” are circumstantially suspicious and politically motivated. Such accusations are nothing more than hearsay because no proper investigations have been carried out and the Gov is not a trained criminal investigator. This is more so when the riots across the country including Rivers, Lagos, Edo, Plateau, Benue and Anambra were mob in nature with simultaneous outlook. It is also militarily atrocious to levy war and terror on entire community, in the name of “searching for IPOB terrorists”. As a matter of fact, “IPOB” has become ‘a death code’ or ‘slogan of death’ used by the present Government of Nigeria to terrorize and massacre citizens of old Eastern Nigeria.”

Intersociety warned Wike, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and the governors of the five Igbo-speaking states to guard “against ‘Carry Go’ deployment of killer soldiers”.

The rights group said: “Intersociety is strongly warning and raising the alarm on dangerous citizens’ rights, liberty, security and safety implications of “carry go” or “licensed to kill, torture and terrorize” deployment of soldiers in old Eastern Nigeria particularly in Anambra, Delta, Rivers, Enugu, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi States. As clearly shown in the photo attached below, concerning Gov Obiano’s last week’s (seemingly) “carry go” group photo with the newly deployed soldiers in Anambra State; the named Govs have been allowing ethno-religiously unknown soldiers to be deployed in their respective States. This they do without getting such soldiers tutored at reception arenas on the need for them to steer clear of abuse or violation of human rights including sexual harassments, unlawful arrest, torture, extrajudicial killing and roadblock extortion as well as aiding or protecting jihadists’ settlements and activities in Igbo Land. The Govs also do not care to seek and know the ethno-religious composition of the soldiers being drafted including that of their leaders.

“This is more so when it is now a truism that the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigeria Police Force and the Intelligence Agencies, etc of pre 2015 are no longer same as the present ones and their compositions; in addition to the fact that there have been credible reports of military terrorism and terrorization of defenseless citizens in Igbo Land particularly in Abia, Ebonyi and Rivers States. As a matter of fact, the three States are the flashpoints for potential military massacre this end of 2020. This was the case in Sept 2017 in Abia with over 180 were massacred in three days and Onitsha and Nkpor in Anambra and Asaba in Delta in May 2016 where over 140 were massacred.”

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