Emergence of M. Buhari as Sixth Civilian President of Nigeria

Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari’s emergence as sixth civilian President of Nigeria follows the conduct of highly divisive and tension-filled Presidential poll on the 11^th of April 2015, in which over 12 million registered voters dominated by Southern registered voters were denied electronic voters cards and their right to vote.

Barriers were further created by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headed by President Buhari’s kinsman of Fulani Muslim background, Prof Attahiru Jega; depriving millions of eligible Southern voters from being captured as registered voters. There was also electronic manipulation of card readers, leading to hundreds of thousands of southern voters’ card bearers being disenfranchised on voting day. It should be noted that the Southern part of the country is predominantly Christian. Millions of under-age Muslim children in the north were also unconstitutionally and unlawfully issued with electronic voters’ cards by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and allowed to vote particularly in the April 2015 Presidential Poll.

At the end, the ratio of people who voted; between predominant Muslim northerners and predominant Christian southerners was projected at 80/40; leading to declaration and swearing in of Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari as the sixth civilian President of Nigeria; which further deepened the existing ethno-religious divisions and tensions in Nigeria till date.

Birth and Education of President Muhammadu Buhari

Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari was officially born on 17^th December 1942 (74yrs) in Daura of Muslim Fulani background, located in present Katsina State, Northwest Nigeria. His civil and formal education (primary and secondary school) records are mired in controversy till date but there is a credible record that he was enrolled into then Nigerian Military Training College (now Nigerian Defence Academy), Kaduna in 1961 from where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant/Brigade Major in 1966. He was said to have attended the Katsina Government College, but the records associated with same are strongly unconvincing and utterly controversial; suggesting that he may have never earned or obtained a West African School Certificate (WASC).

Muhammadu Buhari’s Marriage And Children

Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari’s first wife is Sufinatu Buhari who got married to him at the age of 18 in 1971, a year after the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War ended (1967-70). Sufinatu Mani (as she then was) fell in love with Muhammadu Buhari in 1966 when she was 14 years having been born on 11^th December 1952. Then, Muhammadu Buhari was a brigade major in the Nigerian Army and met young Sufinatu when he, in company of his late friend and military colleague; Shehu Yar’adua, visited Sufinatu’s father, Alhaji Yusuf Mani; then a private secretary to Major Shehu Yar’Adua’s father, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua who was then Federal Minister of Lagos Affairs.

Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari’s second wife, Aisha Buhari was born on 17^th February 1971 and got married to Muhammadu Buhari in 1989. They have five children. She holds a master’s degree in International Affairs and Strategic Studies. In all, Retired Major Gen Muhammadu married two wives in 1971 and 1989 respectively and his two marriages were blessed with ten children.

Buhari As A Serial Coupist

His journey to military incursion in politics in Nigeria started on 28^th July 1966 when he actively participated in a counter- bloody coup that got the then Head of State, Major Gen Aguiyi Ironsi and other senior military officers assassinated. Then he was a commissioned Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army, which subsequently made him a serial coupist and war monger.

Apart from his active participation in the bloody counter coup of 28^th July 1966, Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari also participated actively in the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War of 1967-1970; which led to the genocidal killing of about two million mostly old Eastern Nigerian citizens or more; out of which over one million died of starvation. Specifically, Retired Major Gen Buhari, with others, was actively involved in perpetration of several war crimes (i.e. massacre of hundreds of thousands of civilians or non combatants particularly women and children) with particular reference to Owerri pogroms of 1968.

As a serial coupist, Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari participated further and actively in the 30^th July 1975 palace coup, as a Lieutenant Colonel, which ousted the then military government of Retired General Yakubu Gowon, leading to his appointment between 1^st August 1975 and 3^rd February 1976 as the military governor of the North Eastern State, after which he briefly held sway as military governor of Borno State from 3^rd February to 15^th March 1976.

Having also participated in foiling the failed bloody coup of February 13, 1976 that got then military Head of State, Gen Murtala Ramat Mohammed assassinated, Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari was named in March 1976 by Gen Olusegun Obasanjo (who succeeded late Gen Murtala Mohamed as head of State) as the Federal Commissioner (now Minister) for Petroleum and Natural Resources and later doubled as the Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) until 1978.

Prior to his 31^st December 1983 main military coup, Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari was the General Officer Commanding, 4th Infantry Division of the Nigerian Army between August 1980 and January 1981. He was also the General Officer Commanding, 2nd Mechanized Infantry Division between January 1981 and October 1981; and the General Officer Commanding, 3rd Armored Division of the Nigerian Army, between October 1981 and December 1983. He rose to become a Major General as at December 1983.

Buhari’s 1983 Coup and His Violent Military Presidency

Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari (as he then was) led other recalcitrant and coupist soldiers to overthrow the democratically elected presidency of Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Shagari on 31^st December 1983; accusing the ousted civilian administration of corruption, favouritism and nepotism. As a result, all democratic structures particularly the 1979 civilian Constitution and its Fundamental Human Rights Chapter, were suspended indefinitely or abolished; leading to state of terror and perpetration of motley of regime atrocities.

Several anti democracy, human rights and press military laws or decrees were hurriedly enacted with stiff sanction provisions through Special Military Tribunals. The two most notorious of such military decrees were Decrees No.2 and 4 of 1984. Decree 2 was cited as the Nigerian State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No. 2 of 1984, which allowed for indefinite and incommunicado detention of Nigerian citizens.

The Decree No 2 of 1984 suspended the constitutional freedoms or Fundamental Human Rights Chapter of the then 1979 civilian Constitution outright and empowered the chief of staff, Supreme Headquarters, to detain indefinitely (subject to review every three months) anyone suspected of “acts prejudicial to state security or contributing to the economic adversity of the nation.” The Decree also authorised any police officer or a member of the armed forces to arrest and detain such a person at will and without trial.

Another most heinous of over twenty harsh and regime atrocious decrees of the Buhari’s military era was Decree No 4 of 1984 or anti press freedom military decree. It was drafted on March 29, 1984 and became operational in April 1984. Decree No. 4 was the most dreaded and repressive press law to be enacted in Nigeria. The law was drafted to punish “authors of false statements and reports” that exposed the Buhari military administration and or its officials to ridicule or contempt.

Section 1, sub-sections (i), (ii) and (iii) of the obnoxious law - the most harmful section - provided that: Any person who publishes in any form, whether written or otherwise, any message, rumour, report or statement, being a message, rumour, statement or report which is false in any material particular or which brings or is calculated to bring the Federal Military Government or the Government of a state or public officer to ridicule or disrepute, shall be guilty of an offence under this Decree.

It further provides that: Any station for wireless telegraphy which conveys or transmits any sound or visual message, rumour, report or statement, being a message, rumour, report or statement which is false in any material particular or which brings or is calculated to bring the Federal Government or the Government of a state or a public officer to ridicule or disrepute, shall be guilty of an offence under this Decree. It shall be an offence under this Decree for a newspaper or wireless telegraphy station in Nigeria to publish or transmit any message, rumour, report or statement which is false in any material particular stating that any public officer has in any manner been engaged in corrupt practices or has in any manner corruptly enriched himself or any other person.

By July 1984, the Buhari’s military junta had issued twenty-two decrees, including two backdated to December 31, 1983, prescribing the death penalty for arson, drug trafficking, oil smuggling, and currency counterfeiting. In a related attempt to combat public indiscipline, Buhari's chief of staff, Brigadier General Tunde Idiagbon, launched a largely symbolic and ineffective nationwide War Against Indiscipline (WAI) campaign in spring of 1984, which further landed several political actors and other opponents of the military junta to hash and anti-human rights treatments.

As a result of these, the then National Security Organization (NSO), the Nigeria Police Force and other members of the Nigerian Armed Forces became an outlaw and untouchable. By the end of 1984, over 500 political detainees and several human rights and media activists had been arrested and thrown into indefinite detention without trial. (Reference: http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9485.html)

The most dreaded armed unit of the Buhari’s security establishment used in perpetrating the regime atrocities under reference was the National Security Organization (NSO), which is now split into the State Security Services (SSS), the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) by virtue of the National Security Agencies Act of 1986, which formally disbanded the NSO. Under Buhari’s atrocious and tortuous 20 months military era (January 1984 - August 1985), NSO was responsible for the arrest and indefinite detention and disappearances of several opponents of his military regime.

The Buhari’s atrocious military regime was ousted in a palace military coup of 27^th August 1985, which named Major Gen Ibrahim Babangida (as he then was) as the new military head of State; leading to forceful retirement of Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari from the Nigerian Army. It is on record, till date, that since his forceful retirement from the Nigerian Army on 27^th August 1985, Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari had never attended any refresher or democratic leadership course or professional program locally or internationally till date. He has also not attended any formal education training or tutorship locally or internationally till date.

Till date, too, he knows little or nothing about civil leadership, democratic and human rights values and principles; thereby retaining his old military character of crudity, intolerance, primordialism, hate, divisiveness, vindictiveness, crude religiosity and violence; which have collectively made him a serial human rights abuser and avid intolerant politician till date.

Buhari’s Civilian Presidency: A Replica of His Brute Military Regime

The present civilian administration of Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari is substantially, if not totally a replica of his military’s inglorious epoch. The advancements and gains recorded by Nigeria as a democratic country in the areas of rule of law and democratic free speeches and freedoms have been badly damaged and dragged to the mud on account of the emergence of the administration of Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari and its crude governance styles.

Prior to the emergence of the Buhari Administration in late May 2015, Nigeria’s poor human rights records were largely non-State actor oriented or driven; with the State and its coercive agencies accused of not competently rising to the occasion to protect the rights, lives and properties of the citizens from malicious non State actors or criminal citizens. In some cases, the Nigerian State was accused of aiding and abetting the criminal conducts of the malicious non State actors and; in other cases, criminal and malicious elements within the State coercive establishments were accused of corroding with or aiding the malicious citizens and entities in the perpetration of such atrocious conducts.

But the situation got compounded or out of hand in the present Buhari Administration, to the extent that Nigeria’s human rights records have dangerously plummeted and dualised into State and non State actor dimensions. That is to say that the State of Nigeria under the Buhari Administration, which ought to preserve and protect the citizens’ rights and democratic freedoms has become the lead violator and perpetrator of regime atrocities of various dimensions.

Buhari’s Government Contempt for Constitutionalism and Human Rights Principles

Apart from the mandatory provisions in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, particularly its Sections 10, 14 (3) & (4) and 33-46 which prohibit domination of federal and State political appointments and institutions by one religion or tribe and guarantee secularism or adoption of non State religion, freedom from discrimination, freedom of association, expression, movement and religion as well as rights to life, dignity of human person, personal liberty, fair hearing and fair trial, peaceful assembly, right against indiscriminate arrest and long detention without trial and freedom of the press; Nigeria is till date, a State Party to several regional and international rights and humanitarian treaties particularly under UN and African Union Systems.

These include the United Nations Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1976; which Nigeria ratified in 1993. The State of Nigeria is also a State Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights of 1981; which it ratified and domesticated in 1983. Nigeria, too, is a State Party to UN Genocide and Torture Conventions of 1948 and 1985 respectively as well as the UN’s Women and Child’s Rights Conventions of 1984 and 1990 respectively.

On humanitarian and use of force aspects, Nigeria is a party to UN Statute on Refuge of 1951 and the Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998. Nigerian armed forces and police are also strictly bound by the UN’s Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials of 1979 and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials of 1990.

Nigeria as a member of the United Nations is mandatorily bound by the Principles of the UN, which are to save future generations from war, reaffirm human rights, and establish equal rights for all persons; in addition to promotion of justice, freedom, and social progress for the peoples of all of its member states. Nigeria is also obligated by the Fundamental Rules of the international law, its human rights and humanitarian principles particularly the Ten Basic Standards of the International Law for management by members of the armed forces and police of every Member-State of lawful and unlawful assemblies other than armed rebellions.

The UN’s new concept of sovereignty as a responsibility and maintenance of international peace and security as the core foundation of the Purposes of the 193-member Organization; is also inviolably binding on Nigeria as a key Member-State. In the area of intra or inter-State armed conflict, Nigeria is bound by the Geneva Conventions or Laws of War of 1949 and its three Protocols.

Nigeria is again bound by the Customary International Law under UN System particularly those that are inviolable by virtue of their doctrine of “substantial uniformity by substantial number of States” or “Opinio Juris” (i.e. a general belief binding on all Member-States that a non-treaty is legally binding on States); and importantly, the principle of “Jus Cogens” (i.e. absolute rules of general international law binding on UN Member-States for which no derogation is permitted). These include prohibition on the use of force, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, massacre of unarmed and defenceless citizens in non war situations, slavery, torture, etc.

Sadly, the Buhari Administration has observed these in gross breach and with reckless abandon. The Administration’s contempt for constitutionalism and human rights principles knows no bounds and its preference to policies of militarism and militarisation is widely known and sticky. In June 2015, one of the closest allies of President Muhammadu Buhari and former Police Affairs Minister, Dr. Yakubu Lame issued a press statement calling for suspension of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution or skeletal retention of same and issuance of emergency powers to the President.

In mid 2016, the President sent an executive bill to Nigeria’s National Assembly, seeking to be given emergency or militarist powers at the disastrous expense of the country’s mother law-the 1999 Constitution and its regional and international rights and humanitarian obligations. The President has also through his executive or legislative cronyism, introduced several anti human rights and Islamist bills and where such bills fail legislatively, the President resorts to enforcing such policies informally or through a military fiat.

A clear case in point is a stalled bill aimed at institutionalisation and nationalisation of Islamist Nomad Fula or Fulani ranching and grazing practices throughout Nigeria; a policy with clear Jihadist intent. When the bill got stalled legislatively, the President resorted to use of military fiat by which the Nigerian Army announced its readiness to establish Fulani Muslim nomadism or cattle grazing and ranches throughout Nigeria by force.

Three attempts have also been made presidentially to introduce anti press freedom bills; reminiscent of infamous Decree No 4 of 1984. Presently, there exists hash cyber crime law, called Cyber Stalking Act of 2015; targeted at muzzling social media users and practitioners who criticize Nigeria’s Public Office Holders at its Federal, State and Local Government levels. The “defaulters” of the law risk three years imprisonment and payment of equivalent of $22,000.

The spiral increase in the number of armed opposition groups in Nigeria is also linked to the Buhari Administration’s poorest human rights records and its policies of militarism and militarisation. A recent finding by Intersociety showed that the number of armed opposition groups has dangerously risen from two before June 2015 to 18 excluding Boko Haram and Fulani terror groups as at the end of January 2017; making the country the 4^th in Africa with largest number of armed opposition groups, after Democratic Republic of Congo (36), Libya (28) and South Sudan (26).

There is also a sharp increase in the number of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs) in wrong hands in Nigeria as at January 2017; which is now projected at 5 million, on citizen’s average of one SALW per 40 Nigerian citizens using the country’s current estimated population of 174 million.

The increases in SALWs, group violence and citizen militancy/violence or reprisal radicalism; is expertly linked to Buhari’s contempt to human rights principles, rule of law and constitutionalism as well as intensification of physical and structural violence; which have either forced several citizens to flee the country or made them to resort to self help or reprisal radicalism(Reference: Intersociety publication 14^th of August 2016, published by the Premium Times on 18^th of October 2016 http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/213051-18-new-armed-groups-spring-nigeria.html).

There are strong circumstantial and info numeracy evidence showing that Boko Haram Terrorism, which started as a rag tag group in 2002 in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, was later hijacked, heavily funded and made sophisticated by northern Muslim politicians and other radical Islamists for purposes of Jihadism and crooked ascendance to Nigeria’s Presidency; the two tasks which seem to have been accomplished under the present Buhari Administration.

Today, Boko Haram terrorism appears abandoned (except ISIS faction) by the named fundamentalist Islamists and more energy and resources are being channelled into Nomad Fulani Terrorism for widespread and violent Islamism project; which has resulted in systematic, sustained and increased anti Christian violent attacks and deaths in the Christian dominated and populated areas of Nigeria particularly since Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari became Nigeria’s sixth civilian President on 29^th May 2015. The remnants of ongoing Boko Haram terror attacks are carefully and substantially, if not totally targeted at Christian populated areas of the Northeast.

Instances of Buhari’s Regime Atrocities and Gross Rights Abuses

The regime atrocities and human rights abuses under the civilian Administration of Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari are a long list and have risen to an apogee. The Administration is grossly vindictive, intolerant and violent. Most victims of its human rights abuses are the opponents of the Administration mostly drawn from the immediate past Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration, independent critics and Christian populations of the Northeast, Southeast and South-south regions of Nigeria as well as members of Shiite Muslim sect.

Major areas of the Buhari Administration’s widespread rights abuses include abuse of office and regime lawlessness, late night invasion and violent arrest of citizens and their long detention without trial; trumped up charges, torture, custodial killings, forced disappearances, mass killing and wounding of unarmed and defenceless citizens engaging in religious processions and street protests or rallies, regime falsehood and media censorship and muzzling.

Others are harassment, physical assault, arrest and detention of journalists and other media users and practitioners; non protection of citizens from malicious or criminal citizens and entities; reckless disobedience to court pronouncements, disregard to citizens’ constitutional and legal rights; undermining and disrespect to constitutional secularism, fundamental human rights and geopolitical spread or equality principles, etc.

Section 15 (5) of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution forbids abuse of office and corruption by Public Office Holders in Nigeria’s Executive, Legislative and Judicial organs of government.

Using anti corruption as a cover, scores of the political opponents of the Buhari Administration have been violently attacked, arrested in their sleep and detained outside the law. Just few months into the last quarter of 2016, eight serving judges in the country’s high, appellate and apex courts were violently attacked in their sleep and arrested using the notorious State secret police called State Security Services (SSS).

The Buhari Administration claimed that the serving judges “were corrupt”. While about two of the judges had already been disciplined by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for misconducts, the rest had never been invited for investigation by any security or criminal investigation agency or informed of pendency of any criminal complaint against them bordering on corruption.

It was credibly found that the affected judges were embarrassed and humiliated by the Buhari Administration for giving judgments or making orders against the State interests, such as election petition tribunal judgments and court orders directing the SSS to produce or release its held suspects after they were detained for long periods without charge or trial.

Corruption, expertly and legally speaking, is globally considered as a “white-collar crime” or a non street crime (blue-collar), owing to difficulties associated with its tracking and prosecution of its offenders. It is in recognition of this that the United Nations Convention Against Corruption of 2004, which Nigeria is a State Party; strongly recommends that 70% of policies towards curbing it should be given to moral decency and institutional reforms.

In Nigeria, corruption is not a capital offence that attracts death sentence or life imprisonment but a misdemeanour or lower felony; attracting three years imprisonment on conviction or slightly more as case may be (see Nigeria’s Criminal Code, Economic and Financial Crimes and ICPC Acts of 2004).

All the laws above mentioned are mandatorily subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended in 2011. This is by virtue of Sections 1 (3) and 315 of the same Constitution. Under these laws in Nigeria, suspects arrested in connection with corruption are constitutionally entitled to administrative bail within 48hrs of their arrest and detention while in the custody of the Nigeria Police Force or the EFCC, etc.

As a matter of fact, Section 35 of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution outlaws detention beyond maximum of 48hrs without trial or administrative bail of citizens accused of non-capital punishment offences such as corruption, assault and stealing; while its Section 35 (4) limits detention of citizens accused of committing capital offences such as treason, treasonable felony, terrorism, armed robbery, murder and kidnapping, etc, to maximum of 60 days without trial or bail and 90 days with bail, but without formal trial.

However, under the present Buhari Administration, these constitutional provisions are grossly observed in breach and the reverse is disastrously the case. In the so called “fight against corruption”, the Buhari Administration is utterly selective, violent and vindictive. It also lacks moral latitude to curb corruption menace in Nigeria. This is on account of its reckless recourse to abuse of office and application of unconstitutional and unlawful methodologies in processing and prosecuting citizens arrested and detained over corruption allegations.

The Buhari Administration also recklessly applies prosecutorial vindictiveness with reckless abandon to ensure that those it maliciously accused are dumped in long detention without trial or non release on bail or slammed with spurious criminal charges. It also stigmatises and criminalises anti-corruption in the country with utter alacrity.

In the Buhari’s Government so called “anti-corruption war”, its supporters and apologists are shielded from corruption investigation and prosecution while those in opposition or dissent voicing are chased about and labelled “corrupt”. Many, if not most of the supporters and cabinet members of the Buhari Administration are strongly and widely believed to be living ten times above their statutory incomes, with several of them owning private universities, private jets, multimillion dollar houses and billions of naira worth of properties; yet President Buhari has shied away from investigating them till date. The election of Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari, too, including private jets with which he was flown around during campaigns, was heavily funded by those informed Nigerians referred to as “doyens of corruption”.

Where court orders are made for release on bail of detained suspects in connection with corruption allegations, such orders are disobeyed with reckless abandon particularly by the SSS. Arrested suspects are also taken into detention custodies and held for over two-three months before being vindictively arraigned in court. A clear case in point is the former National Security Adviser, Retired Sambo Dasuki, who has been detained incommunicado since his arrest in July 2015.

The Buhari Administration has defiantly disobeyed several court orders for his release on bail till date. In all these, human rights principles and constitutionalism are treated with utter disdain and gross contempt. The worst of the Buhari’s undoing is the use of State security forces to massacre and maim defenceless and unarmed Nigerian citizens in their thousands. This is the first of its kind in a democratic Nigeria and under a non war situation.

Similar sad experience was witnessed in 2000 and 2001 during which the then Obasanjo Administration ordered soldiers to invade Odi and Zakibiam communities in Bayelsa and Benue States respectively to avenge for abduction and killing of scores of soldiers by armed men. The invasion cost the lives of over 3000 defenceless and nonviolent rural citizens.

But that of the present Buhari Administration is totally inexcusable, shocking and abominable. Under one year of the Buhari Administration, between August 2015 and May 2016, over 1500 unarmed and defenceless citizens were massacred by soldiers, police and navy in about ten different locations in Nigeria.

The massacred are those in nonviolent religious processions and street matches or protests for assertion of their constitutional, regional and international rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; ethnic identity, development and self-determination as well as rights to freedom of movement, association, expression and personal liberty.

We had on 26^th September 2016, issued a national awareness publication on managing and policing lawful and unlawful assemblies in Nigeria and internationally, other than armed rebellions. The UN and constitutional legal frameworks for members of the armed forces and the police of the UN Member-States for managing same particularly in the area of use of force and crowd control were fully explored and showcased.

The statement is contained in the following link: http://nigeriamasterweb.com/Masterweb/breakingnews-28916-public-awareness-managing-peaceful-assemblies-nigeria-and-dangers-posed-security.

Statistics of Rights Abuses

Among over 1500 citizens massacred by Government of Muhammadu Buhari are 1,120 members of Shiite Muslim and over 250 members of the nonviolent Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other pro Biafra activists or campaigners. While over 1,120 Shiite Muslims were massacred in two days of 12^th -14^th of December 2015 as well as on 7^th October and 14^th November 2016 in Zaria, Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria; over 250 pro Biafra activists got massacred on 30^th August, 2^nd December and 17^th December 2015 as well as on 18^th and 29^th January, 9^th February, 29^th and 30^th May 2016 in Anambra, Abia, Delta and Rivers States in Southeast and South-south regions of Nigeria.

For instance, four Pro Biafra Campaigners were killed on 30^th August 2015 in Awka; thirteen on 2^nd December 2015 in Onitsha; fifteen in Onitsha on 17^th December 2015 including Citizens Michael Nweke, Mathew Kalu Ibeh (Ndukwe) and Chukwuma Nwankwo whose corpses were taken away by soldiers and dumped four days later at the Onitsha General Hospital morgue.

Others are eight in Aba on 18^th January 2016; ten in Aba on 29^th January 2016; thirty-five in Aba on 9^th of February 2016 including thirteen lifeless bodies of Pro Biafra Campaigners found dumped in a burrow pit by soldiers of 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army on 13^th February 2016; and not less than one hundred and forty killed in Nkpor, Onitsha and Asaba in the late night of 29^th May and 30^th of May 2016 following violent disruption of the Biafra Heroes Anniversary by security forces. The remainders represent those killed in Port Harcourt in Rivers State as well as dark figures of crime.

That is to say that the referenced slaying of over 250 Pro Biafra Campaigners by the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Navy took place in nine different locations in Onitsha, Awka and Nkpor-Anambra State; Port Harcourt-Rivers State, Aba-Abia State and Asaba-Delta State all located in the Southeast and the South-south regions of Nigeria.

The Pro Biafra butcheries were culpably directed and executed by President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian Army COAS, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, former Police IG, Solomon Arase and their sub commanders particularly in Anambra and Abia States as well as Governors Willie Obiano of Anambra State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State; who culpably aided the Federal Government’s security officials in butchering the unarmed and defenceless citizens.

As if these were not enough and as recently as on 20^th January 2017, not less than twenty (20) unarmed Pro Biafra Campaigners were shot and killed with seventy (70) others terminally injured and another seventy (70) arrested and detained by the Joint Security Taskforce comprising soldiers, police, SSS and other members of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The latest killings took place in Igweocha (Port Harcourt) in Rivers State, South-South Nigeria during a pro Donald Trump solidarity rally organised by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in support of the new United States President who was sworn in same day.

After the said Pro Trump Rally shootings and killings, the soldiers of the Nigerian Army in their usual criminal and sadistic manner, took away ten dead bodies of the slain activists while the Police took away not less than three others. Four dead bodies; namely Citizens Ndubuisi Okoli, Uwakwe Justus Ikechukwu, Celestine Chukwudobelu and Kenneth Mathew have so far been recovered and deposited at hospital mortuaries and more are still being located as at 31^st January 2017. With this killing, the number of unarmed Pro Biafra Campaigners killed and terminally wounded by the Government of Muhammadu Buhari between August 2015 and January 2017 has risen to over 270 and 370 respectively.

Ref:http://newsexpressngr.com/news/detail.php?news=33615, http://www.thetrentonline.com/pro-trump-rally-intersociety-nigeria/

In all, the total number of members of the IPOB and Shiite Muslim sect and other defenceless civilians killed and terminally injured by the Nigerian Army and other security agencies including the Nigerian Air Force; across the country in the past 20 months or since June 2015 has risen to not less than 1750 and 870 respectively. That is to say over 270 slain unarmed IPOB and other Pro Biafra activists with over 370 others terminally wounded; 1120 slain Shiite Muslims with over 400 others terminally wounded; and 236 slain civilians bombed by the Nigerian Air Force in the Rann IDP camp on 17^th January 2017 with over 90 others wounded.

The links below contain the names of at least 705 members of the Nigeria’s Shiite Muslims who went missing or dead since 12^th-14^th December 2015 mass killing of their members by the Nigerian Army and its Chief of Staff:

https://ournaijablog.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/zaria-massacre-full-list-of-names-and-photos-of-705-missing-people

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/197360-zaria-massacre-nigeria-shia-group-releases-705-names-photos-of-missing-members-full-list.html

In the case of over 250 Pro Biafra Campaigners massacred and over 300 others terminally shot and injured between August 2015 and May 2016, the following links contain more information investigated and released by our Organization including our letter to the Federal Government of Nigeria, dated 16^th February 2016; regarding their names and how they were massacred by Buhari’s Government and its killer security forces:

https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/206303/ceaseless-killing-of-unarmed-citizens-in-nigeria-why-securi.html

http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/206499/ceaseless-killing-of-unarmed-citizens-in-nigeria-pictures-.html

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/investigationspecial-reports/204902-special-report-inside-massive-extrajudicial-killings-nigerias-south-east.html http://nigeriamasterweb.com/Masterweb/breakingnews-7416-butchery-across-niger-how-jubilant-ipobpro-biafra-activists-were-shot-abducted

Further, while the authorities of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch held that “at least 300 Shiite Muslims were killed”, the leadership of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) have pictorially and statistically recorded over 800 deaths and over 180 missing till date as well as over 120 killings in the 7^th of October and 14^th of November 2016 massacre by soldiers and police of its members in Kaduna, Kano and Plateau states.

In the area of the massacred nonviolent pro Biafra activists; Amnesty International found that “at least 150 of them were killed”, while further facts and statistics gathered by this Organization showed that over 270 were massacred and over 370 others terminally shot and injured including the shootings and killings at Pro Trump Rally of 20^th January 2017 where at least 20 were killed and 70 others wounded.

References: (1) Amnesty International Report on killing of unarmed Pro Biafra Protesters by Nigerian Security Forces, 24^th November 2016:

https://www.amnesty.org.ng/sites/default/files/Nigeria_bullets_were_raining_everywhere%20web.pdf,

(2) https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/22/nigeria-army-attack-shia-unjustified (HRW Report on Shiite Massacre in Zaria: 22^nd December 2015),

(3) (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/09/nigeria-crackdown-and-shrinking-civic-space/) Amnesty International Statement on killing of over 300 Shiite Muslims September 2016,

(4) https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/04/nigeria-military-cover-up-of-mass-slaughter-at-zaria-exposed/ (Amnesty International statement exposing Nigerian military cover-up of mass slaughter of unarmed and defenceless Shiite Muslims in Zaria, Kaduna State).

Custodial killings, forced disappearances and torture are also common place under the Buhari Administration. In the 11^th December 2016 report jointly issued by this Organization and the Southeast Nigeria Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs), which was updated in January 2017, we found that out of 102,600 unlawful or criminal killings in Nigeria since 1999 or in the past seventeen years, over 11,000 unlawful deaths or killing outside the law have been recorded under the 20 months of the present Government of Muhammadu Buhari or between June 2015 and January 2017.

By criminal death or killing outside the law, it is the act of taking a citizen’s life using processes and procedures not recognised by law (i.e. 1999 Constitution, regional and international rights conventions and laws) and it includes citizens taking into detention custodies alive but killed while being held, road killings associated with police extortion and killings over minor infractions or simple offences; killing of unarmed and defenceless citizens engaging in church vigil and street protests/rallies and religious processions; election day killings, military invasion and massacre of unarmed and defenceless rural citizens in troubled local communities.

Others are raiding and killing by security forces of unarmed and defenceless citizens in their homes, holy places of worship and work places; any form of killing of civilians or non combatants by government forces or armed opposition groups outside military necessity in wartimes; killings arising from inter-communal and religious violence particularly as they concern uninvolved or innocent and defenceless citizens; and culpable or wilful homicides. These do not include deaths arising from battle-field related clashes between government and opposition forces other than non combatants; or road, aviation, marine or other mishaps; or hunger or starvation related deaths, etc.

For instance, not less than 236 defenceless and hunger stricken citizens quartered in IDP camp, located in Rann Community of Kala-Balge Local Government Area in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria were massacred in the 17^th January 2017 jet bombing carried out by the Nigerian Air Force; which claimed “it was a mistake bombing originally targeted at Boko Haram terrorists”.

The massacre is nothing short of war crime by act of wilful bombing of a known IDP camp and civilian settlement, which is a non military necessity; forbidden by the Geneva Conventions of 1949. That is to say that with the latest killings in the Port Harcourt pro Trump rally by Nigerian security forces and the wilful Rann civilian jet bombing by the Nigerian Air Force, the total number of State murders perpetrated by the Government of Muhammadu Buhari has risen to over 1750 in 20 months or from June 2015 to January 2017. (Reference: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/221343-236-people-buried-idp-camp-bombing-nigerian-jet-official.html)

http://www.intersociety-ng.org/component/k2/item/214-killing-bombing-of-236-citizens-in-borno-idp-camp

Sadly, most, if not all the perpetrators of these constitutional crimes, treaty crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity crimes and genocide in Nigeria are still on the prowl with the Buhari Government practically doing little or nothing to bring them to justice; except aiding and condoning them till date and with reckless abandon. It is elementary and fundamental part of the International Law under the UN System that when a State Party or a UN Member-State fails woefully to uphold its sovereignty under the Principle of Complementarity by punishing severely and fairly perpetrators of heinous crimes and adequately compensating and rehabilitating the victims; it automatically loses its jurisprudential sovereignty and hands off and surrenders to regional or international criminal justice remedies and sanctions. This is also provided in the Rome Statute for International Criminal Court of 1998, signed and ratified by Nigeria on 27th September 2001.

Statistical highlights of these heinous crimes in Nigeria:

That Nigeria has recorded over 102,600 criminal deaths in seventeen years or since 1999 when it returned to civil rule, on average of 6,030 for each of the seventeen past years

That over 54,000 criminal deaths took place in Nigeria between June 1999 and December 2011 on average of 4500 for each of those past twelve years as at December 2011

That over 48,600 additional criminal deaths took place in five years or since January 2012, on average of 9,720 for each of the five years

That Boko Haram accounted for not less than 17,000 criminal deaths in five years or since December 2011 on average of 3400 for each of the five years and the year 2014 was the bloodiest year for Nigerians particularly Christians who lost not less than 4,028 lives, out of 4,480 killed and over 1000 lives out of 1229 killed by Nomad Fulani terrorists.

That Boko Haram and Nomad Fulani Jihadists massacred a total of 5,709 mostly Christians in Nigeria in 2014 (Global Terrorism Index 2015)

That Custodial deaths or deaths in detention custodies mostly perpetrated by Police SARS, SCIDs and Army (during counter insurgency operations) accounted for not less than 21,500 in five years or since 2011 on average of 4300 for each of the five years and 350 monthly.

That over 7000 citizens lost their lives to Fulani Terrorists in five years or since 2011 on average of 1400 for each of the five years.

That a variant of Fulani Terrorists (officially called cattle rustlers) accounted for at least 600 deaths in Zamfara State as at 2015

That Boko Haram killed not less than 2500 in twenty months of the Buhari Administration or from June 2015 to January 2017, on average of 125 for each of the twenty months.

That Nomad Fulani Terrorists killed not less than 2800 mostly Christians under twenty months of the Buhari Administration on average of 140 for each of the twenty months and the year 2016 was the bloodiest year for Nigerian Christians with loss of over 2000 lives to Nomad Fulani Jihadism.

That not less than 4000 custodial deaths perpetrated by Police SARS and SCIDs may most likely have occurred under 20 months of the Buhari Administration (June 2015-January 2017) on average of 200 for each of the twenty months and six deaths per State monthly.

That over 1750 State murders mostly perpetrated by the Nigerian Army; occurred under twenty months of the Buhari Administration including over 1120 Shiite Muslims, 270 Pro Biafra activists and over 236 IDPs bombed in the Rann IDP camp following non-military necessity bombings by the Nigerian Air Force on 17^th January 2017; all on monthly average of 87.5 defenceless citizens for each of the twenty months. This criminal death figure is the highest in non war situation and in the history of democratic Nigeria.

That over 870 cases of attempted murder or criminal wounding abounds under the Buhari’s Administration representing IMN, IPOB and IDPs members shot and terminally injured or bombed courtesy of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, the Nigeria Police Force, etc.

That over 11,000 criminal deaths had taken place in twenty months of the Buhari Administration on average death of 550 defenceless citizens for each of the twenty months

That criminal deaths arising from inter-communal violence, election killings and dark figures of crime accounted for not less than 1200 since January 2012; bringing the grand total to 102,600 criminal deaths in the past seventeen years of June 1999 to January 2017 or 48,600 in the past five years of 2011 to January 2017.

Apart from over 1750 direct State murders perpetrated by the Administration of Muhammadu Buhari in the past 20 months, there are also not less than 4000 custodial killings most likely recorded under his violent Presidency on monthly average of 200 custodial killings. Custodial killings are very rampant in Nigerian Security sector particularly among the operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force; which majorly result from torturing and wilful shooting of their held suspects accused of committing street crimes.

Custodial killings arising from torture and wilful shootings are also common among the operatives of the Federal and State Criminal Investigation Departments (FCID/SCID). Torture, too, is a routine particularly among the Police SARS and general duty police personnel, SSS operatives and the army. Scores of unarmed citizens who were arrested by SSS have been held incommunicado without trial for several months till date with strong suspicion that they undergo grave torture and other inhuman and degrading treatments in custodies.

Amnesty International, for instance, had in its 2014 and 2016 Reports, gravely indicted Nigeria Police SARS operatives as grossly involved in torturing arrested citizens under their custodies; which usually lead to high incidences of pre-trial or custodial deaths. It is credibly estimated that not less than 200 detained citizens die monthly in Police SARS custodies across the 36 States of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory and 12 Zonal Commands of the Force in Nigeria; or six citizens per State monthly.

Further, long detention without trial or bail is very common and reckless under the present central Government of Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari in Nigeria. For instance, Citizens Nnamdi Kanu, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawuisi and Chidiebere Onwudiwe have been in detention without trial or bail for over one year and six months respectively. The four citizens are currently undergoing pre-trial proceedings and yet to be tried properly.

They agitate non-violently for “Biafra independence from Nigeria” using the instrumentality of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Radio Biafra London (RBL) and Pacifism.

The following are names of at least thirteen IPOB members and dates of their arrest. They have, till date, remained detained under solitary conditions without trial (1) Citizen Justice O. Udo. He was arrested by SSS in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in the mid night of 13^th July 2016 and thrown into indefinite detention without trial till date; a period of over six months or 180 days. (2) Citizen Sunday Chukwuka Obasi was arrested by SSS in the late night of 16^th August 2016 in Nnewi, Anambra State; shot at his two legs and thrown into indefinite detention without trial as at December 2016; a period of over four months or 120 days.

(3) Citizens Ikechukwu Ugwuoha, (4) Asochukwu Boniface Ugochukwu, (5) Sunday J. Okafor, (6) Ekene Onuoha and (7) Joseph Okorie (Ogbuawa) were arrested by SSS on 24^th August 2016 at Ugba Junction, near Aba in Abia State at about 7.30am on their way back from Kuje Prison (where they had gone to see their leader, Nnamdi Kanu) and thrown into indefinite detention without trial till date; a period of almost five months each or 150 days.

(8) Citizen Bright Chimezie. He was arrested by Police in Akwa Ibom State at business hours of 16^th September 2016 and handed over to the SSS, which took him into incommunicado detention without trial till date; a period of four months or 120 days. (9) Citizen Ndubuisi Arum (High Chief Oko) was arrested by SSS in Aba, Abia State in October 2016 and detained incommunicado without trial till date; a period of over three months or 90 days.

(10) Citizen Eta Stephen Bassey is a 45yrs old Principal of the Wisdom Child International School in Bokokiri area of Port Harcourt in Rivers State. He is also the Financial Secretary of IPOB in Bundu Unit Town Zone 1 of the organization in Rivers State and hails from Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State. Citizen Eta Stephen Bassey was abducted by SSS at the business hours of 3^rd November 2016 around Victoria Street/Aggrey Road area of Port Harcourt in Rivers State where he had gone to buy “suya” meat and till date; a period of 72 days, he has remained in solitary detention of the SSS. His mobile phone number as released by his close associates is +2348034284857.

(11) Citizen Moses Agbo is a member of the Biafra Family Writers. He was arrested by SSS on the Christmas Eve of December 2016 after he visited Citizen Nnamdi Kanu in Kuje Prison and till date; a period of 30 days, he is still held incommunicado by the SSS without trial. (12) Citizen Udochukwu Nelson, (13) Citizen Echeie Osten and (14) Citizen Rose... were arrested at their market shops at the business hours of 13^th January 2017 by SSS in Rumuola area of Port Harcourt in Rivers State and they are still being held incommunicado as of today.

Information available at our advocacy disposal also clearly indicates that all of the SSS detainees are gravely tortured to incriminate themselves and confess to spurious allegations of their involvement in “terrorism” and “treasonable felony”. Citizen Bright Chimezie, for instance, is said to have had his two legs broken by his SSS torturers in the Akwa Ibom State Directorate of the Service in Uyo, South-south Nigeria.

The leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria or Shiite Muslims, Ibrahim Zaky El-Zaky and his wife, Malama Zeenatu are the longest serving detainees without court trial in the history of democratic Nigeria or since 1999. The Shiite leader and his wife have been held incommunicado by SSS for over 13 months or 390 days. They were shot and battered by soldiers after a thousand of their followers were killed or went missing between 12^th and 14^th December 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna State during their road-way religious procession on 12^th December 2015 and subsequent violent invasion and destruction of their holy places of worship on 14^th December 2015.

While the IMN leader had 18 bullets reportedly removed from his body, his wife had four bullets removed from her body as well. Sheik Ibrahim El-Zaky’s three sons were also shot and killed in his presence as well as his young nephew and 70yrs old sister who was burnt alive by soldiers. His legitimate abode or residence was also destroyed and burnt beyond recognition by soldiers of the Nigerian Army. This is a clear and gross violation of Section 43 of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution which guarantees and empowers citizens to “acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria”.

Since Sheik Ibrahim Zaky El-Zaky and his wife were shot half dead by Lt Gen Tukur Buratai led Nigerian Army and taken into SSS custody on 14^th of December 2015, they have not been brought to public or allowed access to be seen by their biological relatives. The Government of Muhammadu Buhari has also flouted and disobeyed an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court order of 2^nd December 2016; mandating the Government to free the Islamic cleric and his wife unconditionally with monetary compensation of about $100.000. Over 300 of his members are currently being held in various detention facilities in Kaduna State over trumped offences.

(References:http://www.thetrentonline.com/pro-biafra-activists-dss; http://www.intersociety-ng.org/component/k2/item/206-silent-genocide-in-nigeria, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/09/nigeria-special-police-squad-get-rich-torturing-detainees/,https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/04/nigeria-military-cover-up-of-mass-slaughter-at-zaria-exposed/).

•Being Part 1 of excepts from the Special Report, Welcome To Bleeding Republic Of Nigeria: A Land Flowing With Blood And Tears, recently released by the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety), Onitsha Nigeria. Watch out tomorrow for the concluding part, which includes The Return of Jihadism and Persecution of Christians in Nigeria, Summary and Recommendations.

Update news