From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
A human rights organization, International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety) said that it has been mobilizing with other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Intelligentsias in Southeast, South-South zones and abroad against killings and abduction in the areas.
The group said that the 40 CSOs and Intelligentsia’s advocacy activities including their searchlights would focus more on Imo, Abia, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Ebonyi states as well as Anambra, Enugu and Delta states.
The Chairman of Intersociety, Mr Emeka Umeagbalasi, in a statement said that the CSOs and group of intellectuals/highly educated persons from Eastern Nigeria, operating in the region and overseas have been appealed to and mobilized to beam their advocacy and intellectual searchlights on the alleged continued hateful and unlawfully murderous operations by the country’s Muslim dominated and controlled security forces especially the Nigerian Army.
‘The 40 Rights CSOs and Intelligentsia’s advocacy activities including their searchlights will focus more on Imo, Abia, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Ebonyi states as well as Anambra, Enugu and Delta states.
‘Apart from safety, security and liberties of the indigenous Christians in the above named states, safety of public and private properties including employment generating assets and investments will also be monitored for protection.
‘The planned joint advocacy activities have also been designed to have local and international contents including documentation and careful study and evaluation of international criminal and civil justice and diplomatic remedies and safeguards for purpose of blackening the perpetrators internationally and bringing them to criminal and civil justice including making them pay for all the atrocities perpetrated under the color and seal of the “Nigerian security forces”. The 40 mobilised Rights CSOs and Intelligentsias shall be speaking out very soon.
‘There are most likely remotely planned state actor jihadist attacks looming in Eastern Nigeria, targeting unarmed Christian citizens of the Southeast and South-south and their properties including sacred centers of worship and learning as well as other employment generating assets and investments.
‘Like the combined state actor and non state actor attacks on Numan (in Adamawa State) Christians on Dec 4, 2017 during 50 Christians and another 30 were simultaneously killed by combined forces of Nigerian Government and the jihadist Fulani Herdsmen; the looming jihadist attacks may most likely involve combined forces of state actor Muslim dominated and controlled security forces and non state actor but Government backed Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen.
‘These have also been the case in Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, etc. The Nigeria’s Muslim led security forces part of the attacks is most likely chronicled under the guise of “special military operations aimed at crushing secessionist/Biafra separatists and their gunmen in the Southeast and the South-South.
‘It must be remembered that the Old Eastern and Mid Western Nigeria now called Southeast and South-South; Nigeria’s strongest and largest Christian regions; have been under military and policing siege since the present Muslim dominated and controlled central Government came on board in 2015.
‘Without any evidence of armed resistance in two regions, the Nigerian Government declared war on the two Regions and deployed the highest form of state instruments of coercion against the two regions, their peoples and properties.
‘The Nigerian Government, clearly acting hatefully, further launched series of murderous military operations using its Muslim dominated and controlled troops who rapaciously usurped and undermined the activities of the Nigeria Police Force and relied on criminally insignificant infractions and civil irrelevancies such as traffic offenses, picketing, street protests, inter personal quarrelling, business transactions and road blockades to kill, maim, torture, abduct and disappear unarmed and defenseless citizens of the two regions at will,’ Umeagbalasi alleged.