A human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, on Wednesday asked the Federal Government to investigate murder of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) members and scores of the Shiites who were allegedly killed by the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police.

Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), lamented the impassive posture of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and any of its 109 branches for failing to condemn crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the army and the police.

He made the demand in a statement by the Secretary to Falana & Falana Chambers, Tayo Soyemi, calling the President Muhammadu Buhari administration “to set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the killing of IPOB members as well as the scores of Shiites by security agents.”

He cited a report the Amnesty International released last week, which he said, revealed that officers of the Nigerian Army “brutally killed 150 members of the IPOB.

Unsurprisingly, the army has denied the report.”

Falana buttressed the report of the Amnesty International with a statement the Nigerian Army issued on May 31 in which it said many of own troops sustained varying degrees of injury in the aftermath of the fire fight that ensued.

He added that the injured troops “are currently receiving treatment at own medical centre. Similarly, five members of IPOB were killed, eight wounded while nine were arrested for due legal actions.”

The rights lawyer lamented that the armed soldiers, who have engaged in the killings, “have not been charged to any criminal court whatsoever,” thereby demanding that the president should constitute a panel of inquiry that would investigate the killing of IPOB members and Shiites.

Falana, however, pointed out that the NBA reacted “to the nocturnal raid of the homes of seven judges who were arrested for alleged corrupt practices last month by the Department State Services (DSS) operatives.”

He said he did not support the harassment of the judges, though he did not hesitate in condemning the NBA for engaging in hypocrisy by limiting the defence of human rights “to the senior members of the legal profession.”

He also observed that the ruling class “is highly corrupt, but the ruling classes in Western countries are more corrupt,” thus demanding that all ministers and public officials should declare their assets.

The rights activist argued that since President Buhari and the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, declared their assets, all ministers and public officers “should be made to follow suit.”

He noted that it was not sufficient for the president “to deny the allegation that he was receiving double salaries. “He should proceed to issue an Executive Order to prohibit ministers and legislators from earning double salaries and allowances because it is illegal and immoral,” according to Falana.

•Excerpted from a THISDAY report. Photo shows Femi Falana.

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