By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has tackled the Nigerian Military on how it responded to the attack and massacre of over 200 Plateau Christians and killing of “6,880 terrorists” in 2023

It described the Military's statement of defense on the Jihadist massacre as being mired in inconsistencies, contradictions and unanswered questions.

The group in a statement signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, C.E. Udegbunam, Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire, Head, Campaign and Publicity among others likened the Nigerian Military response to the failed state of Somalia’s Gendarmes.

The statement issued on Monday in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, reads in part: “Eight years (August 2015-Dec 2023), the military coordinated over 27 major conduct-atrocity (state actor) operations and conspired in 36 non state actor butcheries leading to death of over 100,000 defenseless citizens

"The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), Nigeria’s leading and respected Human Rights and Democracy Voice since 2008 is totally disappointed but not surprised at the two statements of defense issued two days ago by the Nigerian Military Defense Headquarters regarding the Dec 24 and 25 grisly, egregious, unprovoked, unwarranted, coordinated and conspiratorial massacre of over 200 defenseless Christians in three Christian-held Local Government Areas of Plateau State by the Nigerian Government-protected Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen.

“The Nigerian Military (Army, Air Force and Navy) had also claimed outside the law that in its first statement of that day that “it neutralized (killed) 6,880 “terrorists” (including “464” in the South-East) in 2023 and “arrested 6,970”.

“Intersociety unequivocally and knowledgeably states that the two statements by the Nigerian Military are not only watery, unprofessional and vexatious but also bear the stark attributes of the Failed State of Somalia’s Gendarmes in the era and post era of Late Gen Mohammed Siad Barre (Oct 21, 1969-Jan 26, 1991) till date.”

Intersociety observed that the modus operandi of the stone age has continued to envelope military operations in Nigeria.

The group noted that the Nigerian Military’s internal security operations particularly since August 2015 are not only nothing to write home going by modern military science and professionalism including respect for human rights and adherence to the rule of law and ethical codes of conduct; but also such “internal operations” have been characterized by crude and false gallantry, operational inconsistencies, contradictions and falsehood; partisanship, biasness and selectiveness; generalization, false labeling and class criminalization; spinning and mangling of figures (dead and wounded); incessancy of killing or abduction and disappearance of unarmed citizens on phantom and indiscriminate allegations of “involvement in terrorism”.

It stressed that the Nigerian Military’s “internal security operations” are also characterized by ethno-religious profiling and stigmatization; inter-agency usurpation and quackery including stark illiteracy in the knowledge of use of force; jungle-justice, brutalities, corruption and transfer of criminal responsibilities; stark illiteracy in the knowledge and workings of the rule of law and citizens’ constitutional liberties including the ‘citizens’ right to self defence; and stark illiteracy in the knowledge of modern military science, ICT and civil-military relations; to mention but a few.

Intersociety added: “The Nigerian Military has also since August 2015 promoted crude culture of impunity and above the law among its conscripted officers and combatants who have brazenly refused to restrict themselves to the Military’s clearly defined operational mandates and limitations placed on it by the country’s Statutes including the 1999 Constitution, the Armed Forces of 2004, the Access to Criminal Justice Act of 2015, the Firearms Act of 2004 and the Fundamental Human Rights provisions in the country’s 1999 Constitution and the Treaty Laws of the Federation, etc.

“The Nigerian Military has earned notoriety in unlawful use of ‘Generalization’, ‘False Labeling’, ‘Class Criminalization’, ‘Ethno-Religious Profiling’, ‘State Censorship’, ‘Partisanship/Biasness’ and ‘Jungle Justice’; leading to incessant abduction and disappearance or killing of several hundreds of unarmed Nigerians on monthly basis particularly non Muslim ‘sedentary’ and ‘pastoral’ citizens of Old Eastern Nigeria.”

Alleging that the military’s statements are “mired in inconsistencies, contradictions and unanswered questions”, Intersociety said: “The Nigerian Military first statement has been critically and knowledgeably looked into and found to be mired in gross inconsistencies, contradictions and unanswered questions. In its “killing 6,880 terrorists (including “464” in the South-East) and arresting 6,970” other “terrorists”, the Nigerian Military deliberately generalized by labeling the slain as “terrorists from across the country’s six geopolitical zones” including South-East where it claimed to have “neutralized (killed outside the law) 464 terrorists in 2023”.

“The above is not only a clear case of ‘class criminalization’ but also ‘a cultural violence layered in the cloak of criminal generalization, false labeling and stigmatization’.

"The Military statement had brazenly failed to categorize the number of slain citizens or arrested others involved in terrorism as statutorily defined and those involved in ‘street criminalities’ including statutory liability offenses (if any), misdemeanors and felonies; also as statutorily defined.

“The Military statement also failed woefully to give a breakdown of the number and whereabouts of those “arrested” including whether they are still alive or have been tortured (including shot and wounded) or starved to death.

“The statement did not disclose further under what circumstances the “neutralized” got killed and when and where they were killed and whereabouts of the slain bodies and whether their families or lawyers (if any) were duly informed as statutorily laid out. No mention also made regarding the number of the “6,970 arrested terrorists” undergoing court trial or facing prosecuted by which department (s).

“Intersociety also makes bold to say that the Military’s claims of “killing 464 South-Easterners in 2023”; a failed attempt at false gallantry, has ended up exposing and confirming our deepest fears and suspicions over indiscriminate killing or abduction and permanent disappearance of several hundreds of unarmed South-Easterners by the Military and other security agencies including Police crack squads and DSS.

“This is to the extent that not less than 1000 of them are nowhere to be found in the just ended 2023 including Ndefo Felix, Ani Izuchukwu, Odoh Friday, Chukwuka Raphael, Ikenna Chibueze, Hyacinth Ugwuike, Ozioma, Osita Udenze, Magnus Nnabuike, Chijioke Ali, Christopher Njenje, Emeka Okonkwor, Livinus Egbo, Okeke Uchenna, Ogbu Michael, Nweke Chukwuemeka, Obieze Ugochukwu, Chigozie Oghem, Chisom Nwizu, Ikechukwu Okoro, Chinedu Odenigbo, Chinedu Obiah, Chijioke Obama, Ogochukwu Nweke, Uchenna Oganama and Emmanuel Obinani abducted and disappeared from Anambra State alone.”

Continuing Intersociety said: “Placed in logic and critical thinking, the “464 neutralized South-East terrorists in 2023” is most likely correct to be “the Military’s casualty figure sampling from the South-East”. In other words, the mostly unarmed citizens’ military’s high death toll in the South-East in 2023 is most likely to be more than three times or over 1,600 if the number of those killed outside the law by police crack squads and those abducted and disappeared by the Military, the DSS and the Police crack squads is added.”

The group further condemned the Nigerian Military, DSS and Police use of genocidal word: “neutralize”, saying that it is not only another attempt at false gallantry but also a speedy relapse into the abyss of the Stone Age defense and security operations and their modus operandi.

It said that its expectation was for the Nigerian Military to knowledgeably give Nigerians the statistical and factual breakdown of its “internal security operations” strictly within the confines of its constitutional, statutory and operationally defined mandates and limitations thereto.

The rights group added: “Such internationally standardized policing statistics expected of the Nigerian Military in the instant case include the number of citizens arrested and handed over to the Police over their involvement in ‘street criminalities’ (.i.e. armed robbery, abduction-for-ransom, solid mineral theft, arson, burglary/house breaking, vandalism, cybercrimes, political thuggery and assassination, civil murders, etc).

“Even though all of the above are clearly outside the formative and statutory mandates of the Nigerian Military, but its personnel can spot any of them and make arrest and immediately hand over to the Police with their preliminary findings for continuation of detailed investigation and prosecution or otherwise.

“It is also knowledgeably informed that the ‘Power of Arrest’ in Nigeria’s Statutes is given to every lawful citizen of Nigeria whether civilian or law enforcement officer. Intersociety is deeply shocked and dismayed how the Military turned around to generalize all those it “killed” and “arrested” in the South-East as “South-East terrorists”.

“The Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen have in 2023 alone killed not less than 500 defenseless South-Easterners especially in those areas with highest military and police crack squads’ roadblocks including 300 killed in the Lokpanta-Okigwe-Uturu-Umunneochi axis of the Port-Harcourt –

Enugu Expressway; yet not even a single Fulani Herdsman was among those “neutralized” or “arrested” in the Nigerian Military statement; a height of partisanship, biasness, selectiveness, class criminalization and crass cultural violence.”

On the issue of “Firearms Act And Citizens’ Right To Self-Defense Grossly Twisted And In Breach”, the group said: “The Nigerian Military had also in its first statement grossly twisted and observed in breach the clear provisions of the Firearms Act of 2004 by classifying all firearms it claimed to have recovered as “weapons or firearms used in modern terrorism” as well as labeling every arms bearer in Nigeria as “a terrorist”.

“Such innocent arms bearers include hunters and domestic self defense users. We have severally investigated and found that the Military and the Police have been going about raiding private civilians in South-South, South-East and North-Central including Southern Kaduna and seizing their licensed Dane, Single and Double Barreled Guns and Pump Action Guns from “enemy-local vigilantes”; with intents to make them vulnerable for ethno-religious attacks.

“Such seized “un-prohibited firearms” have also severally been used to frame up hundreds of unarmed citizens killed or shot and terminally wounded outside the law and tagged “IPOB/ESN terrorists or hoodlums or bandits killed or shot and wounded in crossfire with gallant security agents”.

“We strongly believe that such seized “un-prohibited firearms” must have been part of those the Military controversially claimed to have recovered from “South-East terrorists” in its first statement of two days ago. This is even what modern terrorism perpetrators or offenders barely use Dane or Single or Double Barreled Guns. Pump Action Guns are also rarely used and are not a common feature in modern terrorism warfare and their counter operations.

On the subhead, "Understanding The Firearms Act Of 2004, Soludo said,

“It must therefore be knowledgeably informed that by the clear provisions of the Nigeria’s Firearms Act of 2004 and the Private Citizens’ Right to Self Defense in the country’s Criminal Code Act of 2004 (for the South) and the Penal Code Act of 2004 (for the North), Private Citizens including hunters, civil security guards and domestic self defense users are statutorily allowed to bear “un-prohibited firearms” (.i.e. Pump Action Guns, Dane Guns, Single/Double Barreled Guns, etc).

“It is further informed that the Firearms Act of 2004 categorizes Firearms and their uses into two: Prohibited Firearms (.i.e. automatic firearms like AK-47s, Machine/Sub-Machine Guns, Explosives, “English Pistols” and other high caliber weapons or firearms) and Un-prohibited Firearms (Dane Guns, Pump Action Guns, Single/Double Barreled Guns and their likes). That is to say that every Nigerian is entitled to bear firearms on strict condition of issuance of relevant licenses by the designated Government authorities.

“The Prohibited Firearms may also be used by a citizen of Nigeria on strict obtainment of a license from the Commander-in-Chief. On the other hand, the Un-prohibited Firearms can be used by any citizen with a valid license issued from the Inspector General of Police or a Commissioner of Police of a State.

“We are saddened that despite the clear-cut provisions of the Firearms Act of 2004 highlighted above, there have been several reports strongly accusing the Nigerian Military and other security agencies including various crack squads of the Nigeria Police Force and the DSS of being brazenly partisan, bias and selective including going after members of non Muslim communities particularly in Eastern Nigeria and Middle-Belt seizing their legitimately obtained “un-prohibited firearms” and criminalizing their owners for no just cause.

“It is also shocking and saddening that the same security agencies have turned around and allowed the likes of the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and the Jihadist Fulani Bandits to possess and brandish “Prohibited Firearms” and deploy and use them to slaughter thousands of defenseless Nigerians with impunity.

“The Nigerian Military also brazenly resorts to “neutralizing” (open killing) suspected street criminals and defenseless others in the South and the Middle Belt and hurriedly label them “terrorists” while watching or protecting the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and the Jihadist Fulani Bandits who are hardly arrested or “neutralized” and romanced and petted by Government and security chiefs as “Fulani Herders”. Government statistics regarding the number of them “arrested, prosecuted and jailed” for mass murders and other atrocities are also nonexistent.”

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