Biafra: Security forces must not repeat bloodbath of 2016, warns Amnesty

Amnesty International has asked Nigerian security forces to exercise restraint when policing demonstrations marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Biafra War.

It also asked them to avoid a repetition of the bloodbath caused by their “heavy-handed” response last year when more than 60 people were gunned down.

The human rights watchdog said this in a statement issued on Tuesday.

“Last year’s heavy-handed response against pro-Biafra activists further stirred up tensions in the south-east of Nigeria. The reckless approach to crowd control favoured by the security forces when policing peaceful pro-Biafra protests has left more than 150 dead since August 2015, not to mention cases of enforced disappearance and unlawful detention,” Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said in the statement.

“We urge the Nigerian security agencies to conduct themselves in a manner that will ensure public order without resorting to force.”

The organisation recalled that during the peaceful Biafra Day celebrations last year in Onitsha, Anambra state, “soldiers shot people in several locations”.

It said its research concluded that at least 60 extra-judicial executions were committed in the space of two days, with a further 70 people injured, and that the real number was likely to be higher.

“Despite overwhelming evidence that members of the Nigerian security forces fired live ammunition with little or no warning to disperse pro-Biafra gatherings, resulting in the death of at least 150 people, no person suspected of criminal responsibility has been brought to justice,” Ojigho said.

Amnesty International added that a similar pattern of lack of accountability for gross violations by security forces had been documented in other parts of Nigeria including the north-east in the context of operations against Boko Haram.

“Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the government of Nigeria to initiate independent investigations into allegations of crimes under international law. President Buhari has repeatedly promised that these would be looked into. However, no progress has been made,” the organisation’s Nigeria director, said.

The organisation said in November 2016, it warned that the government’s massive deployment of the military to respond to pro-Biafra events seems to be in large part to blame for the violence as they have no specific training in crowd control.

“Instead, public order during peaceful protests should be dealt with by the police, whose officers should be adequately trained and equipped to respond to crowd-control situations without resorting to the use of lethal force,” it said.

The organisation decried the arrest of some pro-Biafra groups ahead of the formal anniversary.

It said that on May 22 more than 100 members of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Biafra Independent Movement (BIM) were arrested in Enugu, Ebonyi, and Cross Rivers states during similar celebrations.

“We are calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those who have been detained solely for peacefully expressing their political views or another exercise of their right to freedom of expression or peaceful assembly,” Ojigho said.

In a report released in November 2016, the organisation alleged that at least 150 peaceful pro-Biafra protesters were killed by the security forces between August 2015 and August 2016.