VIDEO: AI accuses Nigerian army of killing Biafra protesters
Amnesty International has released a video that purportedly shows pro-Biafra protesters being attacked by Nigerian soldier.
The international organisation also released a statement accusing the Nigerian army of violation of human rights.
Members of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) had staged a protest calling for the release of Nnamdi Kanu the director of Radio Biafra which later led to a clash between them and security operatives.
"On Remembrance Day itself, the security forces shot people in several locations. Amnesty International has not been able to verify the exact number of extrajudicial executions, but estimates that at least 60 people were killed and 70 injured in these two days. The real number is likely to be higher."
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A woman simply identified as Ngozi, during an interview with AI, recounted some of the incidents that occurred during the Remembrance Day celebration.
The 28-year-old wife of a late IPOB protester explained to the Amnesty that her hubby had informed her that day shortly after leaving for work that he had been shot in the abdomen by the soldiers but that he was in a military vehicle with six other members (four already dead).
She added: "He started whispering and said they just stopped [the vehicle]. He was scared they would kill the remaining three of them that were alive… He paused and told me they were coming closer. I heard gunshots and I did not hear a word from him after that."
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It was not until the next day that the woman found her husband's corpse in a mortuary not far from their place of residence. And the mortuary attendant explained how the man had been brought (with three gunshot injuries - one in the abdomen and two on the chest) alongside six others.
The Nigerian army however denied the claim and described the pro-Biafra protesters as violent people.
It accused the international group of peddling lies and said it was an attempt to tarnish the image of the army.
The evidence of MASSOB/IPOB violent secessionist agitations is widely known across the national and international domains. Their modus operandi has continued to relish violence that threatens national security. Indeed between August 2015 and August 2016, the groups’ violent protests have manifested unimaginable atrocities to unhinge the reign of peace, security and stability in several parts of the South East Nigeria. A number of persons from the settler communities that hailed from other parts of the Country were selected for attack, killed and burnt. Such reign of hate, terror and ethno-religious controversies that portend grave consequences for national security have been averted severally through the responsiveness of the Nigerian Army and members of the security agencies.
Source: Legit.ng
