BIAFRA KILLINGS: Igbo Senators demand probe as Amnesty int’l releases video

The South-East Caucus in the Senate, on Thursday, urged the Federal Government to constitute a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the killing of about 150 members of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB).

In a statement issued in Abuja, Chairman of the caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe noted that the report by Amnesty International, which painted a chilling picture of the killing of peaceful protesters allegedly by the Nigerian Army is not only embarrassing to Nigeria as a country, but casts doubts on the operational mode of operation of the Nigerian Military in handling civil protests in a constitutional democracy.

This is even as the Amnesty International released a video to buttress its report on how the Nigerian Army allegedly brutally murdered over 150 unarmed members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),

The video which was released on Thursday showed what looked like security forces led by the military, at different occasions, shooting at, and beating some pro-Biafra protesters.

The video which has gone viral on the Internet and on different social media platforms, has continued to draw criticism on the activities of the country’s security forces.

Abaribe said, “It is not enough for the Nigeria military to debunk the report, we as a caucus demand an independent inquiry in the mould of a Judicial Panel and urgently too.

Read also: BIAFRA: Amnesty Int’l, Nigerian Army in verbal war over killings

“It is our candid view that such panel would reassure the Igbos that the Federal Government is alive to its responsibilities which is the protection and respect of the fundamental rights of all people irrespective of tribe or religion.

“Unraveling the authenticity of the report would help to prevent a re-occurrence just as it will engender unity in our country. But the most important to us now is that the report must be probed and those implicated must be made to face justice,” Abaribe said.

In a report released by Amnesty International on Wednesday, it alleged that no fewer than 150 pro-Brafria protesters in the South-east were killed by the Nigerian security forces, led by the military.

Part of the statement released by Amnesty International reads: “The Nigerian security forces, led by the military, embarked on a chilling campaign of extra-judicial executions and violence, resulting in the deaths of at least 150 peaceful pro-Brafria protesters in the South-east of the country.”
By Ebere Ndukwu and Ehisuan Odia….

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