A civil rights advocacy group, the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety), has accused the President Muhammadu Buhari administration of licensing Nigerians to take up arms and go into intractable terror-insurgency capable of turning the country into Somalia or situation worse than same, and is therefore dangerously injecting Nigerians with toxins of genocide and destruction.

According to the group, “The Federal Government appears to be operating as if it is a cursed regime being haunted by its past misdeeds particularly the framing up and slaying of thousands of unarmed and defenseless citizens as it is generationally damning to kill an innocent soul, not to talk of killing thousands with impunity.”

Intersociety therefore condemned in strongest and unreserved terms the latest court-declared proscription and tagging of Shiite Muslims in Nigeria as “terrorist group”.

“By proscribing the legally non-existent ‘Islamic Movement in Nigeria’, barely two years after such regime atrocious madness was exhibited in the case of the Indigenous Peoples Of Biafra (IPOB), another legally non-existent movement; as well as 10 years after its predecessor government monstrously radicalized Boko Haram, a hitherto rag tag group of ‘area or street miscreants’; the present government is steadily and unstoppably pushing the country and its people to path of abyss or catastrophic perdition.

“How can a government that calls itself a ‘democratic government’ on 12th to 15th December 2015 massacred over 1000 members of a nonviolent and defenseless religious group (Shiites) and maimed 700, destroyed or razed down its headquarters at Hussainia (13th and 14th December 2015), stormed the house of its leader and shot severally at and terminally injured leader, Mallam Zaky Ibrahim el-Zaky, and his beloved wife, Zeenat,, shot and killed their three sons (Hammad, then 17 years; Ali Haydar, then 15 years and Humaid, then 13 years); also shot and killed Hajia Fatima-the religious leader’s elder sister (then 70 years old), bundled the defenseless religious leader and his beloved wife into perpetual detention since past 43 months or three years and seven months and retroactively turned around to secure a black market court order (ex parte) to label the same persecuted religious group a proscribed and terrorist group? What then is a state persecution and pursuit of vendetta?” Intersociety wondered.

The group’s view was contained in a statement it issued July 28, 2019 and signed by its Head of Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program, Obianuju Joy Igboeli; Head of Democracy & Good Governance Program Chinwe Umeche; Head of Int’l Justice & Human Rights Program; Catherine Ndidiamaka Bernard; Head of Campaign & Publicity Dept, Evangeline Chidinma Udegbunam; and a Criminologist & Graduate of Security Studies and Board Chair of Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi.

The group observed that apart from dangerously exposing the country and its territorial and marine borders and handing them over to ‘foreign Fulani mercenaries’, the Federal Government is further goofing on daily basis by risking the lives of the estimated 200million people of Nigeria and injecting the country with toxins of insurgency and genocide.

Recalling what it called “the vindictive proscription Of IPOB, Intersociety noted that the Nigerian Defense Headquarters had on September 15, 2017 after receiving the intelligence reports that its soldiers had massacred many unarmed and defenseless citizens in Abia State in execution of its ‘Operation Python Dance 11’, caused steps to be taken apparently to retroactively justify the massacre by designating IPOB as a ‘terror organization’ and on Sunday, September 17, 2017, President Buhari issued a proclamation tagging ‘IPOB’ a terrorist organization. This was followed by a retroactive ex parte court order secured or issued by the now retired Justice Abdul Kafarati, then Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. The order ex parte was made on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.

It argued that by faith, Shiites are the second largest branch of Islam in the world after Sunnis, dating back to few years after the death of Prophet Mohammed in 632 AD. By indigene-ship, the ‘IPOB’ or Indigenous Peoples of Biafra are an assemblage of peoples found around the Bight of Biafra or in old Eastern Nigeria; dominated by Igbo People of Africa, an indigenous people found settled in their present areas about 3,469 years ago.

Therefore, neither Shiites nor Indigenous People of Biafra or Igbo People of Africa can be legislated by a State (Nigerian Government) out of existence. This is more so when ‘Nigeria’ was brought into existence by the indigenous peoples and their indigenous or freely accepted non indigenous religious faiths. It further follows that while Nigeria and its Government lacks legal power to legislate any indigenous people or a faith out of existence; a combination of indigenous peoples and faith entities can legislate ‘Nigeria’ or its Government out of existence through constitutionalism or referendum or neo nation formative polls. As a matter of fact, the issue that concerns the existence or otherwise of an indigenous people (i.e. IPOB) or a faith entity (i.e. Shiite Muslims) can only be determined by the doctrine of necessity extra-ordinary circumstances.

In the two instant cases therefore, the proscription and tagging of ‘IMN’ (Shiites) and ‘IPOB’ as terror groups are the worst injustices against their Peoples’ rights to ethnic and religious self determination including their rights of existence, ethnic identity, development, worship and religion; all guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s Int’l Rights Treaty Laws enacted under the UN and the AU systems. This is more so when there are no verifiable records anywhere in the country or part of it till date linking the duo of ‘IMN’ and ‘IPOB’ to armed resistance.

“It has never been heard in the history of any progressive or serious minded civil or limited government that a military convoy of an army chief or in the case of Nigeria-a convoy carrying its atrocious army chief could deliberately and violently run into an annual religious procession, known to him from the childhood as a Muslim; just to instigate and perpetrate a mass murder, leading to death of not less than 1,000 and 700 injuries in four days of 12th, 13th, 14thand 15th Dec 2015. It is also an established fact that across all faiths around the world, no member of a faith goes before his or her God armed or violent.

“The ferocious attacks were also launched against unarmed and defenseless Igbo citizens of old Eastern Nigeria in general and ‘IPOB’ in particular. Apart from the Onitsha-Nkpor-Asaba massacre of 29th and 30th May 2016, leading to not less than 140 deaths and over 130 terminal injuries, the Aba, Isiala-Ngwa and Umuahia massacre of 12th to 14th September 2017 was the worst; leading to no fewer than 180 deaths and over 130 terminal injuries. There were also Onitsha killings of 2nd and 17th Dec 2015, Aba killings of 9th Feb 2016 and Igweocha (Port Harcourt) killings of 20th Jan 2017, etc; all perpetrated by the Nigerian security forces led by Army and Police.”

“State killings outside the law in Nigeria have become so unchecked and deepened that they are not only perpetrated with widespread in the streets but have also been shifted to the Nigerian security custodies particularly the detention facilities manned by the Nigeria Police Force.”

Intersociety said it is saddened by the latest reports of death on Thursday, 25th July 2019 in the FCID/SARS custody of some detained members of the Nigeria’s Shiite Muslims who were obviously abducted and dumped without treatments. Of several unarmed and defenseless Shiite members shot and injured on 22nd July 2019 were Miss Ummu Kulthum Isma’il – a 200 level Micro Biology student of ABU, Zaria and Miss Fatima Dasuki, a university trained dentist.

“We also have on good authority that there has been several late night or unholy hour invasion by security agents including soldiers and personnel of the F/SARS of homes and clinics where injured Shiite members were receiving treatments; leading to the injured being abducted and taken to unknown destinations. The indiscriminate use of lethal force including torture, unlawful killings and extra judicial executions against street protesters and other unarmed and defenseless citizens has increased geometrically under the present Buhari Government.”

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