Governors of Willie Obiano of Anambra State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia came under fire on Saturday over the on-going military operations in the country’s South-East and parts of South-South. The two men share the blame for “the ongoing genocidal operations of the Nigerian Army and other security forces in South-East and parts of South-South, according to 15 Nigerian human rights and pro-democracy groups.

The groups are the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety) and Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs), which comprises the Civil Liberties Organization, Southeast Zone (Southeast CLO); Centre for Human Rights & Peace Advocacy (CHRPA); Human Rights Organization of Nigeria (HRON); Global Rights & Development International (GRDI); Society Advocacy Watch Project (SWAP); Anambra Human Rights Forum (ANHRF); Southeast Good Governance Forum (SEGGF); International Solidarity for Peace & Human Rights Initiative (ISPHRI); Igbo Ekunie Initiative (Pan Igbo Rights Advocacy Group); Civil Liberties Organization, Anambra State Branch (Anambra CLO); Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development (FENRAD-Nigeria); Rural Engagement & Development Foundation (RED-Foundation); Society for Economic Rights & Social Justice (SERSj); and Initiative For Ideal Development & Emancipatory Leadership in Nigeria (IDEAL-Nigeria).

A statement jointly signed by the 15 rights groups and released on Saturday in Onitsha reads in part: “The leaderships of Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety) and Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs) are appalled, alarmed and shocked over the barefaced complicity of the Governors of Anambra and Abia states; namely: William Mmaduabuchi Obiano and Victor Okezie Ikpeazu (Ph.D) in the ongoing genocidal operations of the Nigerian Army and other security forces in South-East and parts of South-South Nigeria. By complicity, we conventionally mean the fact or condition of being involved with others in an activity that is unlawful or morally reprehensible.

“The criminal labeling of IPOB and its over three million members worldwide by the Defense Headquarters as “a militant terrorist group” is condemned in strongest terms. It is also a clear case of self demystification by the Nigerian Military of their hidden agenda in the ongoing Army genocidal operations in Igbo Land. The yesterday’s announcement by the Southeast Governors’ Forum of the “proscription of IPOB and all its activities in the Southeast Zone” has exposed the Governors as effeminate or womanish, unmanly or foppish public office holders whose governance short-sightedness, gross mis-governance, mercantilism, personality stains and oligarchic appendage/puppetry are responsible for the present state of militarisation, conquest and general state actor underdevelopment in Southeast Zone. The Governors should bury their faces in shame!!

“Instead of strongly rising in defense of Nigeria’s democracy and its constitutionalism, rule of law and human rights including democratic free speeches and peaceful assemblies/democratic expressions; the Southeast Governors have joined hands in unleashing both State actor and non State actor violence and terrorism on their civilian, peaceful and peace-loving people. Joining hands with grossly lopsided or composed Federal Government and its killer coercive agencies in threatening and undermining the sacred rights of the Igbo Nation and its People to live and exist as peaceful people; develop and freely showcase their ethnic identities and right to freedom of worship; and recreate and manage their destiny; is the height of unforgivable and punishable misdeeds against their own people.

“For the purpose of understanding by Nigerians and members of the international community the depth of the sinister plot or real motive behind the ongoing army’s genocidal operations in our ancestral zone; erroneously and sinisterly code named “Exercise Python Dance 11”, below is a distress electronic message sent to the coordinating team of our Coalition few days ago by a concerned by a security source:

“They are preparing more soldiers in Abuja and Kaduna for the “dance”. They are moving them to Lagos this week from where they will be deployed. The painful plan is that many of them are Southerners; dominated by the target zones; who under army’s command tradition; must obey superior orders especially that of the C-in-C. It may be their plan for the IPOB/Igbo civilian populations to be provoked so that they (soldiers) can unleash their arsenal on them and massacre them en masse. Another fear is that some of them (soldiers from the targeted zones) may be killed from within under “friendly fire or in-service enemy shooting” and the blame laid on agitators that “they killed them”. There is a need for any family in the targeted zones whose son or daughter is in the army and involved in the “dance” to be told and advised to be very careful as they may be killed by friendly forces and the IPOB shall be blamed”.

Gov Obiano’s Complicity in Army Genocidal Operations: The Anambra Governor is, again, complicit in the ongoing genocidal operations; by his genocide threatening and tactless ceding to the Nigerian Army of the Old Oba Airport Site, located in Oba Community, Idemmili South LGA of Anambra State. This, the Governor, who faces a reelection in two months time (18^th November 2017), did through issuance of a letter to the Traditional Ruler and the President General of the Oba Community.

“The letter was dated 11^th September 2017 and referenced: GH/SSG/SECO/2017/2 and titled: Police on the approval of the President, that can proscribed any entity as a terrorist organization.Use of Oba Old Airport Site for Joint Security Exercise For Members Of Nigerian Armed Forces. It partly reads: “I write to inform you that members of the Nigerian Security Forces will use the Old Oba Site as a base for a joint security exercise from 12^th September, 2017....” In the 29^th and 30^th May 2016 pro Biafra Heroes Day massacre, the Governor was also complicit; resulting in the ongoing civil suit against him and 15 ors in the United States. The Governor aided and abetted the massacre during which not less than 110 innocent citizens were massacred in Nkpor and Onitsha with 30 others killed in the Asaba spillover massacre.

“Tactless and Irrationality of Gov Obiano in the Making of another Anambra Killing Field: Gov Obiano and his Government of Anambra State are in most cases, if not at all times, tactless and short-sighted. The Gov has wittingly or unwittingly created another killing field in Anambra State. A welfarist, security conscious and people oriented Governor/Government; especially that running for a second term ought to be extremely careful and trade with caution especially in matters of collective and individual security of his own people and the state as a whole. This should have been done in the instant case by subjecting the referenced hasty and life threatening action to a marathon debate before his State Executive/Security Council.

“This is extremely required especially when his state, boundary and people are under a sinisterly and genocide threatening military operations undertaken by grossly divisive and lopsidedly composed federal security forces. With respect to ceding of the Old Oba Airport Site (newest Anambra killing field) to the lopsidedly composed Armed Forces of Nigeria, the Gov/Government of Anambra acted irrationally, despicably and condemnably.

“The criminological and securitization analysis of the “newest killing field”; done for our Coalition by Emeka Umeagbalasi is shocking, alarming and deafening. Umeagbalasi had analytically observed as follows:

“ “The Old Oba Airport Site is genocidal or a newest form of German concentration military camp because (a) it is isolated and outside any third party watch zone including public access and assessment; (b) it is a killing field prone having been surrounded by swamps both behind it and in its front; with the Oba-Ogbaru (Ude Ngwo) Swamp stretching to several acres of land; (c) it has no legal status and modern humanitarian/medical facilities as well as facilities and personnel to monitor surest occurrences of human rights abuses; (d) it ought not to have been ceded to the military at the first place; considering the strategic location and nearness of the Onitsha Army Barracks which has more than enough space; with legal status and availability of “people in the army” presence and relatively requisite oversights or third party monitoring facilities and capacities.

(e) The probability of the Nigerian Army and its allied others to engage in mindless and senseless unlawful killings, torture, disappearances and disposing of the slain bodies inside the swamps at ungodly hours without detection; is very or alarmingly high”. Recent instances abound: on 2^nd December 2015, most of the bodies of the slain pro Biafra members killed in Onitsha were taken away by soldiers and remained unseen or untraced till date; 17^th December 2015, most of the bodies of slain IPOB activists killed at Onitsha Niger Bridgehead were taken away by soldiers with three of them dumped later on 21^st December 2015 at the Onitsha General Hospital from where they were discretely recovered by their families, IPOB leadership and Intersociety and taken home for interment; 9^th February 2016, most of over 30 slain bodies of pro Biafra activists massacred at the Aba National High School Premises were taken away by soldiers till date; with 13 later dumped inside an Aba burrow pit. On 29^th and 30^th May 2016, 90% of 140 slain pro Biafra activists (110 in Onitsha and 30 at Asaba) were taken away by soldiers till date; and in Port Harcourt on 17^th January 2017, out of 15-20 pro Biafra activists killed at pro Trump Rally, only four were recovered; with the rest taken away by soldiers till date.

“ “Also in Zaria, Kaduna State, on 12^th, 13^th and 14^th December 2015, roughly 1,000 members of Shiite Muslims were massacred; out of which only 347 bodies were recovered and buried in mass graves by the Government of Kaduna State. On 30^th August 2017, the authorities of Shiite Muslims in Nigeria released full pictures and other details of 783 of their members still missing in the hands of the Nigerian Army. These are just to mention but few”.

“Umeagbalasi also feared that not only that the “Obiano’s newly created killing field will be turned into torture chambers, but, gravely, those arrested in the day and at night are prone to late night killings, torture and disappearances with the surrounding swamps be the next dumping grounds where nobody or victims’ families can trace”.

“Gov Okezie Ikpeazu’s Complicity: But for the tactless and ill-timed “curfew” imposed in Abia State by the Gov on 12^th September 2017, the level of killings, maiming, torture and property destructions perpetrated by soldiers would not have escalated. The Gov’s ill-timed curfew not only escalated the military atrocities but also emboldened the soldiers to catch in, to the extent of engaging in sundry late night raids and associated killings, torture, disappearances and abandonment of sleep by the survivors.

“That is to say that the Governor and his Government tactlessly and emptily played into the hands of the soldiers who saw the curfew as tantamount to a “military state of emergency”, to unleash immeasurable terror on civilian population. Gubernatorial naivety also played out; especially when the Gov/Government of Abia State ought to subject the heightened security situation or tension occasioned by the ungodly military invasion; to a marathon debate at the “Abia State Execute/Security Council before dishing out such genocide prone curfew; which the unprofessional Nigerian Military saw and still see as “lower military state of emergency”.”

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