The South East Caucus in the Senate has told the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to immediately constitute a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate alleged killing of about 150 defenceless members of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB).

In a statement issued in Abuja, Chairman of the caucus, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the report by the Amnesty International (AI), which painted a chilling picture of the killing of peaceful protesters allegedly by the Nigerian Army, was not only embarrassing to Nigeria, but also casts doubts on the operational mode of the Nigerian military in handling civil protests in a constitutional democracy.

Abaribe said: “It is not enough for the Nigerian military to debunk the report, we as a caucus demand an independent inquiry in the mould of a judicial panel and urgently too.

“It is our candid view that such a panel would reassure the Igbo that the Federal Government is alive to its responsibilities which is the protection and respect of the fundamental rights of all people irrespective of tribe or religion.

“Unravelling the authenticity of the report would help to prevent a re-occurrence just as it will engender unity in our country. But the most important to us now is that the report must be probed and those implicated made to face justice.”

AI, in a report released on Wednesday, alleged that no fewer than 150 pro-Brafra protesters in the South East were killed by the Nigerian security forces led by the military.

The international group lamented that despite the overwhelming evidence that the Nigerian security forces committed gross human rights violation, including extra-judicial executions and torture, no investigations have been carried out by the authorities.

•Excerpted from a Daily Sun report. Photo shows Senator Abaribe.

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