Shoot-at-Sight: Igbos in America threaten to drag Buhari before ICC

 

Igbos in the United States of America, coordinated by the World Igbo Congress (WIC), Igbo World Assembly (IWA) and Nzuko Umunna (NU), have threatened to drag President Muhammadu Buhari and the service chiefs, including the Inspector General of Police, to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over shoot-at-sight order in the South East.

In a statement on Sunday, jointly signed by Prof Anthony Ejiofor (WIC), Dr Nwachukwu Anakwenze (IWA), Sir Ngozi Odumuko (NU) and Elder Amadiebube Mbama Coordinator, Joint Action Committee, the Igbo coalition which said it was acting as the coordinating point of Ndigbo in the US, condemned the reported shoot-at-sight order issued by the Inspector General of Police against Igbo youths.

The coalition said it was not only vested in the interests of Ndigbo in the US but with deep roots in Nigeria, adding that it was aware of sociocultural, economic and political developments in Nigeria. “To this end, we are not unaware of worsening security challenges in Nigeria and the concerted efforts by both state and non-state actors to arrest the situation,” it said.

Continuing, the coalition said: “The country has witnessed how terrorism, killer herdsmen and banditry that have ravaged some parts of the north are gradually descending to the Southern part of the country, especially the South-East and South-South regions – the Igbo heartland. Noteworthy is the fact that until recently, South-East was the most peaceful and stable region in Nigeria.

READ: Shoot-on-sight order in South East, invitation to extra-judicial killings – Igbo group

“While this is troubling and a great source of concern for Nigerians in general and Ndigbo in particular, what is more worrisome is the posture of the Federal Government and response by the law enforcement agents to the situation. For some reasons that seem odious and ominous, the utterances from the Presidency, Government and law enforcement officials are laced with a desire to turn the region into a war zone rather than seek for its peace, stability and development. The worst-case scenario was the latest comment credited to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba.”

According to the Igbo coalition, the IGP on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, allegedly said, “If anyone accuses you of human rights violation, the report will come to my table and you know what I will do. So, take the battle to them wherever they are and kill them all. Don’t wait for an order.” It described the statement as a call for genocide, extrajudicial killings and human rights violations against people of the South East and South-South regions, if found to be true.

“We have waited to be sure that the Police boss was either misquoted or had a Freudian slip that would be denied and clarified but none of that was done. Not only are we shocked that the IGP Baba did not deny and disassociate himself from such murderous statement but we are equally surprised that the Presidency failed to call him to order and reassure the people of the zones who are already traumatised by such order that this is not case. We want to believe that this is not a state policy that continue to designate the old Eastern region as an occupied territory since the end of the Biafra-Nigerian civil war.

“Against this backdrop, Ndigbo in Diaspora condemn in strongest terms, the shoot-at-sight order given by the IG of Police and the military chiefs as part of their Rule of Engagements (ROE), which violates every fabric of Geneva convention on war crimes and on laws protecting civilians in conflict.

READ: ICC says enough grounds to investigate military, Boko Haram for war crimes

“Consequently, Ndigbo in the United States have commenced actions to hold the police chief to account and the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces for declaration of war on citizens of Nigeria, particularly in the South East and South-South regions.

“For emphasis, we want to bring to the attention of the IGP, Service Chiefs and Presidency that the international conventions and international rules are not being followed in the latest rules of engagement for their operations in Igboland and therefore, constitute acts or intent to commit genocide.

The coalition urged the government to explore dialogue as an avenue to lasting peace in the regions and not a military-era shoot-at-sight order. It advised the government to engage with the people and leaders of these regions in order to assuage their grievances, which, according to it, border on marginalisation and systemic discrimination.

It concluded: “We are also using this opportunity to inform the international community and human rights organisations that if the government and law enforcement agents continue with the bloodletting, then President Muhammadu Buhari and his service chiefs will have cases to answer at the International Criminal Court.

“Finally, for a sustainable solution to the myriads of problems bedevilling the country, which have been exacerbated by the sectional and clannish nature of the current administration, we call on the Federal Government to embrace the 12-point agenda adopted by the governors of the Southern Nigeria, especially on restructuring, state policing and ban on open grazing of livestock.”