The
Nigerian Army has rejected a report by Amnesty International on Friday
accusing Nigerian troops of killing at least 17 unarmed pro-Biafra
supporters in south eastern states.
Amnesty International said it conducted
extensive research on the attacks and could confirm 17 killings, but
said the number could be as high as 50.
In a statement following the report,
H.A. Gambo, a colonel and deputy director, Army Public Relations,
accused Amnesty International of not verifying its claims and seeking to
discredit the Nigerian Army.
“The attention of 82 Division Nigerian
Army has been drawn to insinuations of misdeed being leveled by Amnesty
International against security forces during the MASSOB/IPOB violent
protests in Onitsha and environs on 31 May 2016. Accordingly, it is
deemed imperative for the wrong and misleading impressions with which
the public is being fed to be corrected once and for all,” the statement
said.
“The synopsis of occurrence on that
fateful day is that elements of MASSOB/IPOB engaged in violent protests
which were featured with outright disregard for law and order. In the
scenario of anarchy that ensued, the pro-Biafran protesters who had
chosen the day to mark the 50th Anniversary of Biafra perpetrated a
number of unimaginable atrocities to unhinge the reign of peace,
security and stability in several parts of Anambra State.
“A number of persons from the settler
communities that hailed from other parts of the country were selected
for attack, killed and burnt. 2 personnel of the Nigeria Police were
killed, several soldiers were wounded, a Nigeria Police vehicle was
completely burnt down while another of the Nigerian Army was vandalized.
“The strategic Niger Bridge at Onitsha
was at the verge of being captured particularly with the coordinated
reinforcement of the violent protesters from the Asaba end of the
Bridge. In addition, wanton destruction of lives and properties were
brazenly carried out by the protesters who employed firearms, crude
weapons as well as other volatile cocktails such as acid and dynamites.
In consequence, law, order and security were grossly threatened across
the State and beyond.
“The Nigerian Army in synergy with other
security agencies under its constitutional mandates for Military Aid to
Civil Authority (MACA) and Military Aid to Civil Power (MACP) acted
responsively in order to de-escalate the deteriorating security scenario
in-situ. Instructively, the military and other security agencies
exercised maximum restraints against the odds of provocative and
inexplicable violence that were employed against them by the pro-Biafran
protesters.
“The military and of course the other
security agencies acted professionally within the extant Rules of
Engagement to successful de-escalate the budding anarchy in-situ. It is
rather inconceivable for any individual or group to have decided to
inundate the general public with an anecdote of unverified narratives in
order to discredit the Nigerian Army in the course of carrying out its
constitutional duties despite the inexplicable premeditated and
unprovoked attacks in the hands of the violent pro-Biafran mob.”
Credit: PremiumTimes
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