06/01/2016
Biafra: At least 35 killed in crackdown on protests
Independent investigation of the violence in Nigeria needed (Press Release)
The Biafra activist Samuel Ukeje took part in a panel discussion on Septemper 2015 at the STP. There he spoke about the criminalization of peaceful protesters in Biafra. Photo: Sandy Naake/STP
After 35 Biafrans lost their lives when police and military forces broke up protests in southeastern Nigeria on Monday, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) now calls for an independent investigations. “An independent commission is needed to determine who is responsible for the use of live ammunition and why the security forces opened fire on the demonstrators,” said Ulrich Delius, the STP’s Africa consultant, in Göttingen on Wednesday. “If Nigeria’s parliament is not willing to investigate the incidents, we will ask the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate the reasons behind the deadly escalation. If those who are responsible go unpunished, this will only lead to more violence in Biafra. In view of the inconsistent reports, there must be independent investigations to check the facts and to find out who is responsible – urgently!”
The military has justified its actions by stating that the soldiers acted in self-defense, admitting only 10 deaths, while Biafra-activists claim that the crackdown had led to 35 dead, 207 injured and 403 arrests. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has already rejected the “self-defense”- argument, stating that no provocation could justify the killings.
The protests are to be seen in connection with the 49th anniversary of the Biafra’s declaration of independence from Nigeria (May 30, 1967). Activists had called for prayer meetings in churches and for public demonstrations throughout Biafra, which were attended by thousands of Christian Biafrans. The security forces even raided churches to prevent protests and to arrest demonstrators or eyewitnesses. The worst clashes occurred in the city of Onitsha (Anambra State), where at least 30 people were killed.
More than 30 protesters got killed in crackdowns by the security forces in Biafra between December 2015 and mid-May 2016. “Those who are responsible for this new wave of violence must not go unpunished,” said Delius. “Otherwise, southeastern Nigeria will drown in violence when the beginning of the genocide in Biafra reaches its 50th anniversary in 2017.”
Header Photo: Sandy Naake/STP
