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The International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (ISSJHR) has intensified call for the creation of Anioma State as compensation for the Asaba massacre.
The organisation claimed that Anioma people suffered large-scale massacres during the Nigerian Civil War, most notably the Asaba massacre of October 7, 1967.
Chancellor of ISSJHR, Omenazu Jackson, in a statement on Thursday, said many Anioma people were massacred across Delta North communities, describing the killing as a state-sanctioned crime against humanity.
According to him, history demands restitution, adding that justice requires compensation.
“For Anioma, that compensation is the creation of Anioma State, a lasting recognition of their sacrifice and a constitutional remedy to decades of neglect,” Jackson said.
According to ISSJHR, civilians in Asaba and other Anioma communities were not involved in the January 1966 coup led by the late Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, yet they were targeted for collective punishment.
Beyond Asaba, the group said it documented atrocities in Isheagu, Ndokwa towns, Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku, Ubulu-Uku, and other Delta North communities, where civilians were allegedly attacked, killed, and displaced during military raids between 1967 and 1970.
Citing the UN Geneva Conventions, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ISSJHR argued that the killings violated international humanitarian law and must be addressed through justice and restitution.
Jackson added: “In addition to state creation, ISSJHR calls for a UN- and AU-monitored Truth and Reconciliation Process to officially acknowledge the Anioma massacres, document the scale of atrocities across the region, and provide symbolic and material reparations to families of victims.
“Such a process will restore confidence,
deepen healing, and demonstrate that Nigeria is committed to truth, justice, and
reconciliation.
“The blood of 3,119 Anioma martyrs cries from the soil of history. The creation
of Anioma State together with an international reconciliation framework is the justice that Nigeria must deliver, both as restitution for the past and as a covenant
of equity for the future.
