Amnesty International on Friday claimed the
Nigerian military shot dead unarmed civilians
before a march to mark the anniversary of
the 1967 Biafran declaration of
independence.
Police have said at least 10 people were
killed five in the town of Onitsha, Anambra
state, and five in Asaba, in neighbouring
Delta state -- in violence linked to the
commemoration on May 30.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)
movement, which has revived calls for an
independent homeland for the Igbo people in
southeast Nigeria, claimed at least 35 were
killed.
Amnesty said it was unclear exactly how
many people lost their lives, as soldiers --
who the army says acted in self-defence
took away the dead and injured.
But it stated that based on visits to
hospitals and mortuaries at least 17 were
killed and nearly 50 injured in Onitsha alone.
"The real number is likely to be higher," it
added in a statement, saying some of the
dead and injured seen by researchers had
been shot in the back, indicating they were
fleeing at the time.
"Opening fire on peaceful IPOB supporters
and bystanders, who clearly posed no threat
to anyone is an outrageous use of
unnecessary and excessive force and
resulted in multiple deaths and injuries," said
Amnesty's Nigeria director, MK Ibrahim.
One person was shot dead as they slept, he
added.
- Tear gas, live bullets -
IPOB has staged regular demonstrations
across the southeast since the arrest in
October last year of its leader, Nnamdi
Kanu, who has been charged with
"treasonable felony" and is awaiting trial.
Kanu, who is also head of the banned Radio
Biafra, is accused of calling for a separate
republic of Biafra, nearly 50 years after a
previous declaration of independence
sparked a civil war.
The fighting between 1967 and 1970 left
more than one million people dead, most of
them from starvation and disease, as the
Igbo nation was blockaded into submission.
The May 30 protests were to commemorate
the 49th anniversary of the independence
declaration.
Amnesty, which said it had spoken to 32
eye-witnesses in Onitsha, said it had seen
"no evidence" the killings by the police and
military were to protect lives.
The police have said officers opened fire
because IPOB members shot at the security
forces deployed to monitor the protests and
that two police were killed in Asaba.
"Amnesty International cannot confirm this
claim. However, such killings would not
substantiate the army's argument they
acted in self-defence," it added.
There was also no evidence to support the
claim that IPOB opened fire first.
IPOB maintained the protesters were
unarmed and one man interviewed said he
threw stones but the military and police
fired back teargas then used live
ammunition.
Another said soldiers stormed a church
where protesters were sleeping the night
before the march and let off teargas, while
another said he saw a young boy shot dead
as he had his hands up.
- 'Worrying pattern' -
The Amnesty report echoes multiple claims
about the tactics of armed police and
soldiers made by protesters who attended
three previous IPOB demonstrations from
November to February.
Group members told AFP last month that
injured and dead protestors were carted
away and dumped in mass graves while
others disappeared.
Similar claims have been made against the
military in operations against a Shiite Muslim
group in December last year, when at least
350 protesters were said to have been shot
dead and buried.
The military has also faced repeated
charges from human rights groups about
abuses against civilians during Boko
Haram's Islamist insurgency in the
northeast.
On Biafra, President Muhammadu Buhari has
said he "will not tolerate" threats to
Nigeria's unity.
Ibrahim added: "This is not the first time
that IPOB supporters have died at the hands
of the military.
"It is becoming a worrying pattern and this
incident and others must be immediately
investigated," he said, calling for an end to
"the pattern of increased militarisation of
crowd control".
Nigerian military shot dead unarmed civilians
before a march to mark the anniversary of
the 1967 Biafran declaration of
independence.
Police have said at least 10 people were
killed
state, and five in Asaba, in neighbouring
Delta state -- in violence linked to the
commemoration on May 30.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)
movement, which has revived calls for an
independent homeland for the Igbo people in
southeast Nigeria, claimed at least 35 were
killed.
Amnesty said it was unclear exactly how
many people lost their lives, as soldiers --
who the army says acted in self-defence
took away the dead and injured.
But it stated that based on visits to
hospitals and mortuaries at least 17 were
killed and nearly 50 injured in Onitsha alone.
"The real number is likely to be higher," it
added in a statement, saying some of the
dead and injured seen by researchers had
been shot in the back, indicating they were
fleeing at the time.
"Opening fire on peaceful IPOB supporters
and bystanders, who clearly posed no threat
to anyone is an outrageous use of
unnecessary and excessive force and
resulted in multiple deaths and injuries," said
Amnesty's Nigeria director, MK Ibrahim.
One person was shot dead as they slept, he
added.
- Tear gas, live bullets -
IPOB has staged regular demonstrations
across the southeast since the arrest in
October last year of its leader, Nnamdi
Kanu, who has been charged with
"treasonable felony" and is awaiting trial.
Kanu, who is also head of the banned Radio
Biafra, is accused of calling for a separate
republic of Biafra, nearly 50 years after a
previous declaration of independence
sparked a civil war.
The fighting between 1967 and 1970 left
more than one million people dead, most of
them from starvation and disease, as the
Igbo nation was blockaded into submission.
The May 30 protests were to commemorate
the 49th anniversary of the independence
declaration.
Amnesty, which said it had spoken to 32
eye-witnesses in Onitsha, said it had seen
"no evidence" the killings by the police and
military were to protect lives.
The police have said officers opened fire
because IPOB members shot at the security
forces deployed to monitor the protests and
that two police were killed in Asaba.
"Amnesty International cannot confirm this
claim. However, such killings would not
substantiate the army's argument they
acted in self-defence," it added.
There was also no evidence to support the
claim that IPOB opened fire first.
IPOB maintained the protesters were
unarmed and one man interviewed said he
threw stones but the military and police
fired back teargas then used live
ammunition.
Another said soldiers stormed a church
where protesters were sleeping the night
before the march and let off teargas, while
another said he saw a young boy shot dead
as he had his hands up.
- 'Worrying pattern' -
The Amnesty report echoes multiple claims
about the tactics of armed police and
soldiers made by protesters who attended
three previous IPOB demonstrations from
November to February.
Group members told AFP last month that
injured and dead protestors were carted
away and dumped in mass graves while
others disappeared.
Similar claims have been made against the
military in operations against a Shiite Muslim
group in December last year, when at least
350 protesters were said to have been shot
dead and buried.
The military has also faced repeated
charges from human rights groups about
abuses against civilians during Boko
Haram's Islamist insurgency in the
northeast.
On Biafra, President Muhammadu Buhari has
said he "will not tolerate" threats to
Nigeria's unity.
Ibrahim added: "This is not the first time
that IPOB supporters have died at the hands
of the military.
"It is becoming a worrying pattern and this
incident and others must be immediately
investigated," he said, calling for an end to
"the pattern of increased militarisation of
crowd control".
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