Northern
Youths’ Genocidal Threat: Avoiding The Repetition Of 1966 Anti Igbo
Pogrom In Northern Nigeria And 1994 Rwandan Genocide
The present Federal Government of
Nigeria and its security forces as well as all elected and appointed
public office holders and other key political actors in Southeast
Nigeria must proactively and preventively avoid the repetition of the
1966 anti Igbo pogrom in Northern Nigeria in 1966 in which “between
45,000 and 50,000 civilians of former Eastern Nigeria were killed in
Northern Nigeria and other parts of Nigeria from May 1966 and December
1967”. The 45,000 to 50,000 citizens that were massacred are dominated
by citizens of the Igbo Ethnic Nationality. The pre pogrom panics and
its poorly managed early warnings further generated or forced 1.627,743
(one million, six hundred & twenty seven thousand, seven hundred and
forty three) Easterners dominated by Igbo citizens residing in
different parts of Nigeria to return home or become internally displaced
persons. A good number of them crossed int’l borders and became
refugees.
The pogrom started as “May Day Anti Igbo
Riots in Northern Nigeria” in which over 3,000 Igbo dominated citizens
were butchered. During the months long butcheries, Northern soldiers and
civilians went into towns, fished out Easterners and flattened them
either with rapid gunfire or with violent machete blows, leaving their
properties looted or torched. According to the Massacre of Ndigbo
in 1966: Report of the Justice G. C. M. Onyiuke Tribunal, [Tollbrook
Limited, Ikeja, Lagos] “…between 45,000 and 50,000 civilians of former
Eastern Nigeria were killed in Northern Nigeria and other parts of
Nigeria from 29th May 1966 to December 1967 and the Tribunal estimates
that not less than 1,627,743 Easterners fled back to Eastern Nigeria as a
result of the 1966 pogrom
It is further recalled that following
the said May Day Anti Igbo Riots, resulting in massacring of over 3,000
mostly Igbo citizens, further warnings and notices of returned butcheries
were issued by various violent non State actors in Northern Nigeria but
these were unwarily ignored or kidded by then military and political
leaders in Eastern Nigeria. The then Federal Military Government
resorted to fire brigade approach, while military and political leaders
in Northern Nigeria became State actor engineers, aiders and abettors of
the returned butcheries and butchers; resulting to further
year-long butcheries. The worst of it all was the lame duck and
ineptitude dispositions of the then Eastern military and political
leaders whereby despite the assurances given to then Igbo residents in
Northern Nigeria not to panic or border to return home; a good number of
those who heeded such “assurances of the graveyard” got entrapped and
butchered in their thousands.
It is on account of the foregoing that we, the leaderships of Int’l
Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety) and
Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs)
resolved to call on the present Federal Government of Nigeria and its
security forces as well as all elected and appointed public office
holders and other key political actors in Southeast Nigeria not to
repeat the dire mistakes of 1966 by taking for granted the recent anti Igbo exit order or ultimatum issued
by a radical group of Northern Youths Coalition; comprising the Arewa
Citizens Action for Change led by Nastura Ashir Sharif, Arewa Youth
Consultative Forum led by Shetima Yerima, Arewa Youth Development
Foundation led by Aminu Adam, Arewa Students Forum led by Alfred
Solomon, Northern Youth Vanguard represented by Joshua Viashman and the
Northern Emancipation Network led by Abdul-Azeez Suleiman who also read
the text of the Coalition’s genocidal statement.
It is the common knowledge of all and
sundry that the present security forces and agencies in Nigeria
particularly their command structures are ethno-religiously lopsided and
composed in grave favour of the Hausa-Fulani Muslims, which has widened
the country’s citizens’ policing protection ratio and security, safety
and protection disparity among the country’s six geopolitical zones.
These explain our deeply worries concerning the likelihood of another
anti Igbo pogrom in Northern Nigeria on account of the said genocidal
threat. This is more so when up till now, the Nigeria security forces
particularly the Army and SSS that go about hunting, haunting and
hounding innocent Nigerians of non Hausa-Fulani Muslim stocks
particularly those of South-south and Southeast, by killing, arresting,
torturing and detaining them for months or more have not gone after
those that issued the genocidal statement.
We hereby call on all members of the
int’l community including intergovernmental and nongovernmental actors
and international personalities to take int’l and diplomatic notices of
the latest round of goings on in Nigeria with specific reference to the
referenced genocidal threat and do that which is morally, legally and
diplomatically necessary and expedient to compel Nigerian authorities
and their security agencies not to resort to their usual lukewarm
attitudes or fire brigade approaches in matters of this dicey nature.
The int’l community and the present Government of Nigeria and the
referenced Southeast political actors must see and treat the Northern
Youths’ genocidal threat as early warnings that must be
proactively and preventively handled so as to stop Nigeria and Nigerians
from going the genocidal way of the Republic of Rwanda.
Signed:
For: Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs)
Comrade Aloysius Attah (+2348035090548)For: Civil Liberties Organization, Southeast Zone
Comrade Peter Onyegiri (+2347036892777)
For: Centre for Human Rights & Peace Advocacy
Comrade Samuel Njoku (+2348039444628)
For: Human Rights Organization of Nigeria
Engineer Rufus Duru (+2348037513519)For: Human Rights Organization of Nigeria
For: Global Rights & Development International
Comrade Chike Umeh ( +2348064869601)
For: Society Advocacy Watch Project
Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq. (+2348034186332)
For: Anambra Human Rights Forum
Comrade Alex Olisa(+2348034090410)
For: Southeast Good Governance Forum
Jerry Chukwuokoro, PhD (+2348035372962)For: Southeast Good Governance Forum
For: International Solidarity for Peace & Human Rights Initiative
Tochukwu Ezeoke (+447748612933)
For: Igbo Ekunie Initiative (Pan Igbo Rights Advocacy Group)
Comrade Vincent Ezekwume (+2348171793911)
For: Civil Liberties Organization, Anambra State Branch
Emeka Umeagbalasi(+2348174090052)For: Civil Liberties Organization, Anambra State Branch
For: Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law
Comrade Uzor Ugonna Kingsley (+2348138898669)
For: Rural Engagement & Development Foundation(RED Foundation)
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