ACM10: There is no justice in Nigeria.

IGBO-SON:
Thinking about it again ACM10, i think you're right, and we're basically saying the same thing.

remark D: taking the life of another with no recourse to a judicial ruling is ... i want to say unforgiveable... cause why should one live whom takes that of another in the absence of reason. I really can't express how exactly i feel about murderers.... its just unbelieveable, and very very very unacceptable.

Manny, is this letter just online? or is it going out in hard print or other forms to reach the so called leaders in Igbo land.

I cant understand how the people we have chosen to lead us (or whom have been chosen for us) can not feel for the lives of their fellow human beings/citizens and even brothers...

Anyways, i can only say as much... may god pass his judgement on those whom feel they can take life into their own hands...

saintohia:

.

Justice is what we're demanding and to stop any form of extra-judicial killing in Nigeria.

Human life has almost lost its value in Nigeria, this must not be allowed to happen.

A delay or injustice anywhere on earth, is a threat to justice all over of the world.


.

alj harem: nigeria is just a very wicked country.

50 bodies were found in a river and no investigations are being carried out. I mean it is as if it is normal. In sane countries, the whole country would be in fear and would defiantly demand for accountability but in Nigeria, the FG continues with their work, everyone continues like nothing happened.

I think it was Odumchi that wrote a letter to the governor last year or so, He should do that again addressing the fact that Nigerians are very uncomfortable with the recent bodies found in the river.

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't
a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't
a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't
a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't
a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't
a Catholic.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for
me. ” - Martin Niemöller

alex102: alex102 =alex101



The sad part of this whole saga is that; those responsible for this heinous crime may still be in the police force, still stationed in Igboland. Pray tell, will these animals not carry out thesame crime on members of the community if they have to? Igbo politicians must do all they can in their power to see to it that justice is served, because I doubt if others really care. They must also push with renewed vigor, quest for "regional/state/geopolitical zone" police force.

Most nigerian security personnel are coward by nature,,,they are only good at flexing muscle when dealing with unarmed civilians. It's on this regard that Ndigbo must have to call Uwazurike and his MASSOB henchmen to order,,,they just have to drop this their worthless non-violent movement crap. MASSOB shuould disband immediately in order to stem the tide of unnecessary loss of innocent lives.

manny4life: Umu Igbo, eke m'unu,

Friend of Igbos, I great you.

On behalf of Nairalaind Ndigo Organization (NNO), this is our first official statement concerning the above topic.



Nigeria is at a crossroad. The country faces an opportunity - more than at any other time in its history - to build a society that can guarantee justice, human dignity and civil liberties to all Nigerians. Any delay in execution of justice considerably reduces the chances of democratic development. One might, therefore, consider the option of pursuing a policy of promoting an efficient administration based on the rule of law as well as a basic system of justice perhaps even before vigorously promoting fully fledged modern democracy.


Nations work constantly to ensure that all laws of the land are binding on all citizens of the country, irrespective of class or status. Every modern state strives to enforce the laws, and do so across the board; i.e. in ways that is not arbitrary or selective. In Nigerian context, that due process of the law is not denied to, or unscrupulously skewed against the lowly, the have-nots, and the unconnected in society. Modern states also ensure that in the event of breach of the laws, culpable persons are brought to justice fully and expeditiously to send a powerful message to other would be culprits that their crimes will be punished and never be swept under the carpet. Even more so, agents of state are held more accountable for their actions while serving the collective interest of the Country. Armed agents are held yet to even higher standards, the reason being obvious –they are sponsored by the citizenry.

Punishments are also clearly spelt out; for example, Nigerian law prescribes death to any person(s) who willingly and premeditatedly take(s) the life of another. All citizens of the state are bound by these human right laws, and none is ever allowed to operate outside of them. States which refuse to apply the law evenly to all citizens are not considered viable. Internationally, such states are referred to as “failed or rogue” states.


In light of these beliefs we demand that the Nigerian President, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, and all relevant judicial agencies of the state, to immediately institute a process of arrest and trial of individuals responsible for the extra-judicial killings of the “Apo 6” in Abuja, whose alleged killer Mr. Danjuma Ibrahim is well known; and also those responsible for the deaths of 50 persons whose bodies washed up on the Ezu River in Amansea, Anambra State. There have been many speculations about the motive behind this breach of public trust, and culpable homicide allegedly committed by the Nigerian police and security agents. The bone of contention is that 50 Nigerian citizens who were never convicted by any competent court were summarily executed and their bodies dumped in a river, in an attempt to muzzle justice. This crime in itself is horrific, and the manner in which the bodies were disposed was even more outrageous.

Decades ago during military dictatorship, Law Enforcement Agents who killed Nigerian citizens irrespective of the circumstances were arrested, charged with murder, and justice served according to the supreme laws of this country. What is worth emphasizing is the fact that these happened under brutal military regimes – a system of government internationally termed “oppressive” or “pariah”- yet Nigerians had their days in the Nigerian courts for whatever crimes they committed. To further buttress our view, a brief excerpt from Vanguard
Snippets from the autopsy report on the 25 corpses dumped inside Ezu River in Amansea, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, indicate that the deceased were extra-judicially murdered. Vanguard gathered from sources in Lagos last night that the pathologists, who carried out the autopsy, discovered some bullet wounds, bruises and other signs that the suspects did not die of natural causes
It is reasonable to say that our civilian regime hasn’t served us well; these brutal murders cast no shadow of doubts on our minds these are extra-judicial killings. Suffice to say; we are convinced without reservation that Nigerian Enforcement Officials are at its peak of extra-judicial killings, by default; Nigerians are at the mercy of their own officials. Therefore, could one then surmise that military governments of yore understood, respected and implemented the rule of law in matters patterning to citizens’ rights better than current civilian government? It is a depressing thought, and an indictment of the current civilian government of Nigeria.

To the Igbo nation, a cultural (and even spiritual) perspective on life is that is it a gift from God, and is captured in the Igbo saying of “Egbe bere, Ugo bere, nke si ibe ya ebela nku kwaa ya” (let the kite perch and let the eagle perch, and whichever denies the other of that right to perch should lose its wings). Ndigbo have been victims of mass murder in Northern Nigeria for decades, some of which even happened before Nigeria’s independence. It had almost become an acceptable norm to instigate mass murder against Ndigbo in Northern Nigeria, with total impunity, and no one of significance has ever been charged for the crimes. Ndigbo took them on the chin and moved on.

What is different in the cases of the “Apo 6” and the “50 Ezu River bodies” is that they are instances of police and state security extra-judicial killings and mass murder of Igbo people. Perhaps what is most disturbing and certainly unacceptable about the “Ezu River 50” is the fact that these killers of Igbo have found their ways into SE and other parts of Igboland, ostensibly to extend the terror base to South-East States. This is a new dimension to an old Nigerian norm and thus must attract a new form of response from South-East States and Ndigbo in general.

Official police reports stated that there were “at least” 50 bodies in the river, previously identified as robbers and kidnappers; however, the police later acknowledged through their tattoo-like marks that some of these men were MASSOB members. The question then is:

1. Who decides who should live, and who should die, other than Nigerian courts?

2. Was there ever an amendment to the Nigerian constitution allowing secret trials and courts, and judgments against Nigerians?

3. If the answer is negative, who then feels himself above the Nigerian laws to take the lives of other Nigerians without due process of the courts?

4. What gives a person, any person, operating under the name of the Nigerian state an impetus to commit such crime?

5. Why are the persons responsible for the “Apo 6” murder still free and have never been charged, convicted and hanged according to the provisions of the Nigerian penal code?

These are questions which must be answered by the responsible government agencies and departments, to help douse the feeling that Nigeria has inadvertently launched a second war against Ndigbo. We Ndigbo Online, a body representing millions of Ndigbo, wish to put it on record before the international community, that we demand justice for the “Apo 6”, and the “50 Ezu River bodies”. We do this, being fully aware, that there are NO armed groups (other than armed robbers who should also have their day in courts) anywhere in Igboland. There are no armed resistances or pressure groups anywhere in Igboland, like is obtainable in the Niger Delta and the far North. As far as every eye can see, MASSOB is an unarmed group. Here is an excerpt from MASSOB’s Director of Information;
gThe Director of Information, MASSOB, Mr. Uchenna Madu, said the movement had petitioned the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon; President Barack Obama; the United Nations Human Rights Commission; and Amnesty International, protesting the mass killing of its members by Nigerian security agencies.

He gave the names of MASSOB members the movement suspected to be among those killed and dumped in the Ezu River to include Basil Ogbu, Michael Ogwa, Sunday Omogo, Philip Nwankpa, Eze Ndubisi, Ebuka Eze, Obinna Ofor, Joseph Udoh and Uchechukwu Ejiofor.

He said they were arrested at MASSOB security office at Onitsha Anambra State on November 9, 2012, by a combined team of the army, police and State Security.”

Let it also be on record, that Ndigbo Online are not representing MASSOB as an organization; we are only interested in ensuring that every Igbo gets the protection of the Nigerian state. If that is not possible, then Nigeria should make that clear, and it shall then be the duty of every Igbo to help, or aid any effort by Ndigbo to seek protection by other means. To do that would clearly indicate to other nations of the world that Nigeria has failed. We do not want to support that effort because we still hope that Nigeria would rise to the challenge of extending equal justice to all Nigerians irrespective of tribe or religion or region. However, let there never be doubt about our determination to bring to justice any individual responsible for unduly shedding of Igbo blood.

We recognize that crimes like these are only stopped when individuals are held personally responsible for them. We however reject on its face the pitiable investigation which was carried out in three days, the bodies given a mass burial without detailed autopsies. We totally reject the official reason that the bodies had been floating in the river for a week and were decomposing. We know that these excuses are nothing but lies and deceit. It is our view that in this sort of extra-judicial killings, to clean out the evidence “housecleaning” is very common.
As part of our efforts to start holding individuals responsible for these types of crimes; we urge President Goodluck Jonathan to step in and personally see that justice is done for these hapless Nigerians whose lives were ruthlessly snuffed out by scoundrels operating with appropriations from the Nigerian state. We urge strongly that he assumed personal interest in ensuring that justice is done, and seen to be done in the matter.

In the case of the “Ezu River 50”, we blame Governor Peter Obi, who doubles as the Chief Security Officer of Anambra State for being complacent and unconcern. Such a massive crime could not (and should not) have happened under his watch as he is old enough to remember the Biafra genocide. Other than a half-hearted statement and the N5 million offered for information, Gov.Peter Obi till date has not addressed the issue head-on; this is the height of insensitivity and carelessness. For a people with a history of mass murder perpetrated during a civil war, Gov. Obi appears to be uncannily acquiescing to a new pattern of evil against his own people. This is an eerily dangerous path to thread.

We believe that Gov. Peter Obi should be at the forefront of this investigation, and leading the efforts to bring the culprits to justice. We stand on this position because of the circumstances surrounding their deaths. His tepid actions so far are a form of acquiescence; his nonchalant attitude indirectly endorses the crimes. Igbo say that "okenye o na no n'uno, ewu amuo n'ogbu?” (Should an adult at home watch tepidly while a goat delivers while still on a leash?). Should our leaders whom we have entrusted with the staff of leadership stare idly and watch our lives and properties destroyed?

We do not know the exact sources or sponsors of these killer agents in Igboland, but we hold Nigerian government accountable, because we entrusted the Nigerian government with our security as Nigerian citizens.
For more emphases, we wish to call again that those responsible for these crimes be arrested and sentenced in Nigerian court for crime against humanity. They should be tried and sentenced to death for these crimes, and we shall not stop until this happens. These crimes must be punished as it would set a very dangerous precedence, the spiral effect of which would certainly be bigger than the Nigerian state.

We affirm our optimistic belief in the justice system; buoyed by the recent case where the sentence of “Death Penalty” was handed down by a Federal Court to an ex-police officer who killed his colleague. Despite rampant corruption in the Judiciary, this is a positive development; a worthy news that justice cannot be tampered with favoritism. Indeed his dismissal from the Police Force, trial and sentencing portend great hope for Nigeria justice system. Upholding justice deters lawlessness and random killings by our Law Enforcement Agencies, and of course the civilian population. Thus, we remind all within the judicial process – the State and Federal Attorney Generals, the courts, litigating attorney’s et al, that justice holds virtue to true acceptance of PEACE. It is therefore without equivocation that we insist that prosecutions should always be conducted without recourse each time the law is deemed breached; trials should be prompt, and fair verdicts handed down appropriately.

Signed by NNO Council Members


Thank you.

jackbauersballs: Another whining session.

Cant you guys just get on with life at all?

Antivirus92: Action speaks louder than voice. ALL THESE RANTING WILL NOT CHANGE ANYTHING!

jackbauersballs: Another whining session.

Cant you guys just get on with life at all?

One_Naira:

Are you f2king kidding me? I hope one of your family members get killed by the Nigerian police and his or her body dumped somewhere then we expect to see you come back to this forum and cry whining. I mean really, your type is the one that see a human violation but still stand next to those committing it because they are the authority.

One_Naira:

Are you f2king kidding me? I hope one of your family members get killed by the Nigerian police and his or her body dumped somewhere then we expect to see you come back to this forum and cry whining. I mean really, your type is the one that see a human violation but still stand next to those committing it because they are the authority.