Rejection Of Army’s Kangaroo Rights Abuses
Investigation Panel And Request For Proper Criminal Investigation And Punitive
Measures Against Buratai & Ors
(Intersociety, Onitsha
Nigeria: 9th March 2017)-The gross rights abuses in the
past 21 months of the ailing Buhari’s Government of Nigeria can never be
investigated by the same perpetrators of the heinous crimes (i.e. Nigerian Army
and its COAS: Tukur Yusuf Buratai, etc). Any so called special investigation
panel set up by the Nigerian Army is manifestly a kangaroo and totally
rejected. As a matter of fact, the Nigerian Army should be barred from meddling
into investigations associated with same; except its right to be heard. There
shall be proper criminal investigation and punitive measures against Buratai
and Company; followed by an unbiased and balanced Special Judicial Commission
of Enquiry set up by the Government of Nigeria, for the purpose of victims’
remedies or compensatory justice and serious administrative reprimands-Emeka
Umeagbalasi-Criminologist & Graduate of Security Studies; and Board
Chairman of Intersociety.
The forgoing represents the key
stand of the leadership of International Society for Civil Liberties &
the Rule of Law. That is to say that the Nigerian Army’s latest special
panel to investigate itself concerning its basket-load of gross rights abuses
in the country is not only a kangaroo, but also panicky, escapist and totally
unacceptable. It is also a grave affront to the two famous rule of law
principles of nemo judex in causa sua (no one should not be a
judge in his/her own case or cause) and audi alteram partem(let
the other side be heard or no one should be condemned unheard).
It is on indisputable record that
the Nigerian Army including its Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai; is
responsible for over 70% of the gross rights abuses including custodial deaths,
terminal wounding, grave torture, enforced disappearance, illegal detentions,
mass shooting and killing of unarmed and defenseless ethnic and religious
activists and mass killing of civilians or non combatants in conflict zones.
Others grossly anti human rights and anti constitutional conducts of the
Nigerian Army are violent conducts by way of physical threats and psychological
intimidations; ethnic cleansing, ethno-religious bias, undermining of
constitutional liberties, promotion and escalation of policy of militarization
and encouragement of citizens’ militancy and radicalization as well as fueling
the rapid and uncontrollable inflow of illicit Small Arms & Light Weapons
(SALWs) in wrong or recalcitrant hands particularly in the Northeast and Niger
Delta regions.
Apart from the foregoing, our
forensic look at the so called “Eight-Man Military Panel of Investigation”, its
composition and highly restricted terms of reference; clearly shows that the
kangaroo panel is not only an exonerative panel, but also evidence cleanser and
a fire brigade approach. When a similar panel was set up in March 2016 by
Nigerian Army and its COAS through its Provost Marshall; it was mired in obvious
conflict of interest and lack of moral compass. As expected, its investigation
was dead on arrival. To make the matter worse, 13 slain bodies of IPOB members
strongly suspected to have been killed and dumped inside an Aba burrow pit by
the 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in the area; were suspiciously set
ablaze by the culprit State agents, for the purpose of erasing traces and
evidence destruction.
Also, a critical look at the
composition of the so called “Army Investigative Panel” has further exposed the
dubious and devious intents of the authorities of the Nigerian Army headed by
Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai. The composition under reference is a total replica
of the present gross lopsidedness in the Nigerian Army; which is patently
Jihadist or Islamism friendly.
Shockingly too, the same Nigerian
Army that says it wants to investigate the conduct atrocities of its personnel
including the mass killing of Pro Biafra Campaigners of Southeast and
South-south extractions has no single serving or retired army officers from the
two areas; particularly from the Southeast as members of its so called “Special
Military Panel”.
For the avoidance of doubt, the
names of members of the kangaroo panel are: Major Gen Ahmed Tijani Jibrin, rtd
(chairman), Brigadier General Dadan Garba, rtd; Brigadier General Abdulqadir
Guide, rtd; Brigadier General O. Olayinka; Col. L. B. Mohamme; Col. UM Wambai
;Mr Olawole Fapohunda and Lt. Col. CM Akaliro, who is the panel’s secretary.
The composition is not only ethnically sectional, but utterly Muslim and
military dominated. It also has cabalistic outlook. It has no iota of regards
for the individual and group victims as well as the generality of Nigerians.
Another glaring dubious intent
associated with the so called “Army Special Panel” is its restricted terms of
reference; such as “not revisiting areas covered by State Governments and the
National Human Rights Commission”. That is to say that the kangaroo panel will
not look into the mass killing of over 1000 unarmed and defenseless members of
the Islamic Movement of Nigeria. Strong attempts have been made by the Federal
Government of Nigeria through the Kaduna State Government and leprous National
Human Rights Commission to exonerate the Nigerian Army and its
lead-perpetrators including COAS Lt Gen Tukur Buratai from the Zaria butchery.
The link to the Army statement, announcing the setting up of the kangaroo
Special Military Panel is here:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/03/army-sets-panel-investigate-alleged-ex-judicial-killings-rights-violations-personnel/
As if these were not enough, the
COAS, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai and his Nigerian Army have the audacity to
criminalize and stigmatize the 240 unarmed and defenseless civilians including
29 children aged between new born and five years that died in its Giwa Military
Barracks custody in 2016; by referring to them as “arrested Boko Haram
terrorists”; yet they want to “investigate allegations of extra judicial
killings, etc, involving Nigerian Military”.
We, therefore, make bold to
say that the so called “Special Military Panel” totally lacks constitutional
contents, moral compass, acceptability and credibility to look into the
widespread rights abuses perpetrated against the Federation of Nigeria, the
Constitution and innocent and defenseless citizens of the country. Addressing
the abuses is far beyond the scope, capacity and capability of the lopsidedly
composed Nigerian Army of present time.
Consequently, we strongly
recommend as follows:
a. If the present Federal
Government of Nigeria is repentantly and remorsefully concerned over its
current atrocious human rights records; by way of redressing them and avoidance
of international criminal justice wrath (i.e. vide principles of
complementarity and no impunity); then there shall a matching order to the
Attorney General of the Federation and the Office of the Inspector General of
Police by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to constitute a high powered
Special Criminal Investigation Team into gross rights abuses committed by State
agents as contained in the Amnesty International Report and reports of other
notable rights groups and victim groups and individuals.
b. The composition of such
Special Criminal Investigation Team shall be expertly headed by Office of
Police DIG in-charge of Criminal Investigations and; composed of
representatives of Directorate of Military Intelligence, Military Police,
State Security Service, National Intelligence Agency and their legal
departments as well as office of the Attorney General of the Federation. The
investigative personnel so chosen who must be serving members of the Nigerian
Armed Forces and the Police; must be drawn from all the six geopolitical zones
of Nigeria.
c. The draft composition
of the Special Criminal Investigation shall be prepared by the Attorney General
of the Federation and taken to the Federal Executive Council for amendment,
modifications and ratification.
d. After ratification, the FEC
shall make same public and its scope of criminal investigation shall mandatorily
include: killings perpetrated by Army and other security personnel in time and
areas of peace or areas not under insurgency; otherwise called crimes against
humanity; mass killing of unarmed and defenseless members of an ethnic or
religious group particularly in non war situations; otherwise called genocide;
and killing or death in military or security custody of civilians or non
combatants in areas of conflict (such as Giwa Military Barracks custodial
deaths that killed 240 civilians including 29 children aged between new born
and five years; and the Rann IDP bombing that killed not less than 236
civilians), otherwise called war crimes.
e. The Special Criminal
Investigation Team must also embark on visitations to crime victims and
group-victims as well as crime scenes. Administrative invitations with
associated threats and intimidations to individual and group victims and their
advocates as well as all forms of arm-chair syndromes shall be discouraged and
prohibited by the Special Criminal Investigation Team.
f. At the conclusion of
the Special Criminal Investigations, reports shall be issued and approved by
FEC; after which those indicted shall be diligently prosecuted by the AGF, in
accordance with Section 174 (1) of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution; while those
indicted for war crimes (i.e. death of 240 civilians including 29 children aged
between new born and five years; as well as the Rann IDP killing of 236
civilians) and genocide (i.e. killing of Pro Biafra Campaigners and Shiite
Muslims) shall either be tried locally or handed over to ICC for further
international investigation and prosecution).
g. There shall be set up
separately by the present Federal Government of Nigeria a Special Judicial
Commission of Enquiry to ascertain as follows: (i) the roles of top security
personnel such as immediate past IGP and his successor as well as the current
Chief of Army Staff, the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defense Staff,
the Chief of Air Staff and the Minister of Interior in the referenced killings
perpetrated by security personnel; (ii) those responsible for the massacre of
Christians by the Nomad Fulani Jihadists (this is because till date the Federal
Government of Nigeria has not declared the violent activities of same as armed rebellion
or insurgency); and (iii) the identities of slain victims of Shiite
Muslims, Pro Biafra Campaigners and Christian activists killed by Government
security operatives and the Nomad Fulani Jihadists.
h. The Special Judicial
Commission of Enquiry shall be constituted by the Office of the AGF and
approved by FEC. It shall have representatives drawn from (1) Amnesty
International, (2) Nigerian Rights Groups including those based in the
Southeast Zone; (3) the Federal Government of Nigeria bearing in mind its
federal character; (4) Nigerian Armed Forces and Police; (5) Nigerian Bar
Association; (6) the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria and its Kafanchan
Archdiocese; (7) the ECWA Church; (8) the Christian Association of Nigeria
including the PFN; (9) relevant Muslim groups; (10) the Islamic Movement of
Nigeria; (11) the Indigenous People of Biafra; (12) Nigerian Union of
Journalists, (13) etc.
i. The Special
Judicial Commission of Enquiry shall come out with three major recommendations:
(1) punitive and administrative reprimands, such as dismissal or sack of those
public office holders found culpable-vicariously and individually; as well as
their criminal prosecution; (2) proscription of violent groups found culpable
and criminal prosecution of its principal officers and foot perpetrators; and
(3) adequate compensation of the individual and group victims of State killings
as well as those killed by the Nomad Fulani Jihadists.
j. Adequate and well
publicized State apologies and constitution of the National Sorry Day for those
killed outside the law in Nigeria.
Signed:
For: International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law
(Intersociety)
·
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
Mobile Line: +2348174090052
Email: [email protected]
·
Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq., LLB, BL
Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
Mobile Line: + 2348180771506
·
Ndidiamaka C. Bernard, Esq., LLB, BL
Head, Int’l Justice & Human Rights Program
Mobile Line: +2348067557308
Photo of Umeagbalasi and Anayo Okoli
IPOB: Intersociety rejects Army's Kangaroo investigative panel
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Thursday, March 16, 2017
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