• Accuses military of killing 350 in December 2015
From Aidoghie Paulinus, Molly Kilete and Chimagoziwom Iwunamara, Abuja
Amnesty International (AI) said thousands of Nigerians have disappeared, in recent time, as a result of activities of Boko Haram, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). It said the people were either arrested by security agencies or non-state actors like vigilance groups and their whereabouts have remained unknown.
The international human r ight in a statement signed by it Country Director, Osai Ojigho, to commemorate the “International Day of the Disappeared” quoted the Sheik El-Zakzaky-led IMN as claiming that the whereabouts of at least 600 of its members’ were not known since the clashes with the military in December, 2015, in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The statement added that more than 350 people were believed to have been unlawfully killed by the military between December 12 and 14, 2015.
It called on the Federal Government to investigate all cases of enforced disappearances and bring all those involved to justice in fair trials before courts of law without recourse to death penalty.
But efforts to reach the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Sani Usman for reaction was unsuccessful, as he did not respond to text message sent to his mobile phone and email, at press time.
Speaking with Daily Sun in Abuja on the sideline, Ojigho said the event was organised to raise the voices of families and relatives of victims of enforced disappearances as a result of state’s action or inaction, particularly in Nigeria.
She said it was one thing to know when someone was arrested by state officials or an agency and another to be put into a constant state of no information.
“In recent time, those who have disappeared go into hundreds of Nigerians. We can’t put an exact figure to it, but if we are to take the IMN figures of 600, and if we are to look at what happened during the curbing of pro-Biafra protesters in the South East last year, and we put a number of about 200 people that have been missing, and the numbers could be actually higher. And then, we look at those who, as a result of the conflict in the North-East, particularly in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, who have been picked up by security agents, especially where there had been an attack by Boko Haram, and about who no records have been found to date, then you can put another 300 that have not been verified. So, it is hundreds we can say, but we know that the numbers can definitely be in thousands,” Ojigho declared.
Asked why its country report was usually disputed by the security agencies, particularly the Nigerian Army, Ojigho said there was no conflict between Amnesty International and the Nigerian Army.