•Says 100 disappeared, 650 homes razed, 22,000 rendered homeless

By TINA TIMOTHY

In the past 10 months and 14 days of 2022, the Nigerian military had killed 600, arrested 1,000, disappeared 100, razed 650 homes and rendered 22,000 homeless in old Eastern Nigeria, according to International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety).

Intersociety, in its special report in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria on Monday, November 14, 2022 signed by its principal officers; Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche Esquire, Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire and Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire said the military siege and terror in old Eastern Nigeria is particularly targeted at Igbo Ethnic Nationality and her population “as a result of ethnic and religious profiling and hatred.”

“The Nigerian military siege and terror in Old Eastern Nigeria particularly targeted at Igbo Ethnic Nationality and her population has resulted in the mass killing of at least 600 unarmed citizens of the Region. The military mass killings had taken place in the past 10 months and 14 days of 2022 or In 314 Days, 600 Killed, 1000 Arrested, 100 Disappeared, 650 Homes Razed And 22,000 Homeless 1^st January to 14 November 2022.

“The military siege and terror have also led to burning down or destruction of at least 650 defenseless civilian homes-perpetrated in repeated attacks carried out in over 81 communities during which estimated 22,000 civilian occupants including ageing, infants, women and children were forced out and rendered homeless or forced to take refuge elsewhere including extended families’ homes.

“The culpable military and police crack squads and allied others had during the period arrested or abducted at least 1000 unarmed citizens and disappeared 100 without traces till date. In other words, the militarily abducted and disappeared citizens run the high risk of not returning alive to their families or being located alive,” Intersociety said.

The group accused soldiers of the Nigerian Army as being the leading state actor, the Department of State Services (DSS), Ebubeagu militias as well as other security agencies and police crack squads who “turn total blind eyes on non Eastern genocidal groups especially the Jihadist Muslim Fulani Herdsmen, militarily aided to settle in forests, bushes and farmlands in the East,” adding that “no single conviction has been secured by the prosecutorial security agencies against any of the Eastern indigenous citizens arrested alive and taken into long detention” also “that no single Jihadist Fulani Herdsman has been arrested, paraded and judicially convicted or killed in gunfire since the beginning of 2022; or held individually or pluralistically responsible for abducting not less than 400 native Igbo-Christians and slaughtering of 200 others in the past 314 days of 2022.”

The report continues: “The attacks on Old Eastern Nigerian Trado-Judeo-Christian communities also occurred as a result of ethnic and religious profiling and hatred-with leading state actor perpetrators being soldiers of the Nigerian Army and STS, IRT, CTU, Anti Kidnapping/Robbery/Cultism police crack squads and Nigerian Army-allied Ebubeagu militias.

“The DSS is also found to be skeletally involved in open killing of unarmed Easterners. However, the Spy Service Agency is deeply culpable in indiscriminate arrest or abduction of several unarmed citizens taken into custody and held unlawfully and tortuously for one year and above without trial and knowledge of their families.

“The conduct atrocities or internationally prohibited acts of the above named state actor security agencies are nothing short of application of jungle justice including ethnic profiling, hearsay evidence, extra jus, extrajudicial, extra legal, criminal labeling, stigmatization, discriminatory and hate policing or soldiering. These are on account of their full scale application solely targeting members of the Trado-Judeo-Christian Igbo population and their neighbors; whereas the deployed security forces turn total blind eyes on non Eastern genocidal groups especially the Jihadist Muslim Fulani Herdsmen, militarily aided to settle in forests, bushes and farmlands in the East. Apart from the fact that no single conviction has been secured by the prosecutorial security agencies against any of the Eastern indigenous citizens arrested alive and taken into long detention; it is also observe that no single Jihadist Fulani Herdsman has been arrested, paraded and judicially convicted or killed in gunfire since the beginning of 2022; or held individually or pluralistically responsible for abducting not less than 400 native Igbo-Christians and slaughtering of 200 others in the past 314 days of 2022.”

In a similar vein, the group has raised an alarm of a fresh civilian massacre and other atrocious conducts looming in the Eastern part of the country “between this November 2022 and Election Day of 25^th Feb 2023”, following the recent launching of military operations in the South-East, South-South and North-Central, which “have also increased the number of armed non state actor fighting parties and their counterfeiters as well as ‘street criminal entities” and “sacrilegious acts such as sexual harassment or abuse including rape, arrest of nursing mothers and abduction of heavily pregnant women in their homes or maternity hospitals and termination of their pregnancies, etc.”

“Recent findings by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law have strongly indicated that fresh military massacre of unarmed citizens in their hundreds is looming in the East between this November 2022 and Election Day of 25^th Feb 2023. This is against the backdrop of the recent launching of “the 2022 Operation Golden Dawn” in South-East, “Still Waters” in South-South and “Enduring Peace” in North-Central. From available records or statistics, such military operations have not only ended up in deceit but also led to mass murders, grisly civilian property destructions, infliction of fears on the affected general populations and aiding and abetting the genocidal activities of Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and allied others in bushes, farmlands and forests located in the three Regions. Such recent military operations have also increased the number of armed non state actor fighting parties and their counterfeiters as well as ‘street criminal entities (.i.e. gangs of armed robbers, kidnappers, cultists, criminal miners of solid mineral resources). Sacrilegious acts such as sexual harassment or abuse including rape, arrest of nursing mothers and abduction of heavily pregnant women in their homes or maternity hospitals and termination of their pregnancies, etc have been on the increase since the barbarous military operations took off in the East in 2016 and allied others in late 2015. It must statistically be remembered that in the first military operation carried out on 29^th and 30^th May 2016 in the East, not less than 140 unarmed citizens were massacred in Onitsha, Anambra State and Asaba, Delta State and in the second military operation launched in the Region between 12^th and 15^th Sept 2017, not less than 180 unarmed citizens were massacred in Aba, Isi-Alangwa, Asa/Ogwe and Umuahia located in Abia State,” the group said.

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