If this story is true then the Nigerian police will be the death of us. Quote: “They waited for the police to exhaust their bullets and then moved in. Those who ran into the bush escaped, while Ikechukwu and others who ran into the police station were killed. What an irony! So, bush is safer than a police station in Nigeria. I heard gurgling sounds as they were snuffing life out of him. The next thing, a man speaking in Hausa had his phone.” Whatever the case the blood of these NYSC members must be redeemed. Reprisal attacks are unneeded - it is exactly the same thing as these senseless killings. However, if I were President GEJ I will not rest until a couple of hundreds of those responsible for this mayhem are before a firing squad.He had better get on with it too. Otherwise, somebody, somewhere is going to take the law into his own hands in revenge with damaging effects for this SORRY country called Nigeria. Quote: "According to the group, “The lack of accountability for the violence and killings has reached a crisis point; the ongoing lack of justice for the victims is undermining the credibility of the electoral process. We believe that unpunished violence and killings makes it difficult for fair, free and transparent elections, let alone longer-term democratic processes that can guarantee respect for human rights, to take root and function properly.”
By Nseobong Okon-Ekong
Family members and associates of the late Ukeoma Ikechukwu, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) slain in Bauchi after last week’s presidential election, are still in shock.
Ikechukwu, would have celebrated his 32nd birthday on Sunday, having been born on April 24, 1979. A graduate of Microbiology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, he also served as a manager at His Grace Network, a distributive firm based at Apongbon, Lagos with interest in juice wine.
Mr. Ifeanyi Okoye, Managing Director of the company, described the late Ikechukwu’s last moments: “On Monday morning (April 18), he called me and said there was an emergency and that they were being attacked. He said he was running to the police station in Giagi Local Government area of Bauchi State. I could hear gun shots, which he said was the police shooting into the air. He reported to me that the mob was approaching with clubs and knives.
“They waited for the police to exhaust their bullets and then moved in. Those who ran into the bush escaped, while Ikechukwu and others who ran into the police station were killed. What an irony! So, bush is safer than a police station in Nigeria. I heard gurgling sounds as they were snuffing life out of him. The next thing, a man speaking in Hausa had his phone.”
In a tear-laden voice, Okoye summarised the family’s immediate concern.
“We don’t want Ikechukwu to be buried in Bauchi. His body should be released to us. The Zonal Coordinator of the NYSC and the Welfare Officer have been acting funny since this unfortunate incident happened,” he said.
On the phone from Awommama in Njaba Local Government area of Imo State, his younger brother, Nnaemeka Christain Ukeoma, said he left his plumbing business in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to break the news to his parents.
“It would not be good for them to hear from somebody else. My family is devastated right now. Ikechukwu was the eldest son in a family of six children and we were hopeful that he would be supportive of our aspirations. I spoke with him last the day after the presidential election. He wanted money to leave for Abuja the next day (April 18). Because of the hostility he experienced as a polling official, he said he would not stay for the governorship election,” he said.
Pastor Paul Adefarasin of the House on the Rock, where the late Ikechukwu served in the Prayer and Intercessory department, said while his church encourages its members to answer the national call to serve anywhere in the country, “it is not comforting and we are deeply saddened. We are not happy. It is an awful development and we join all well-meaning people to commiserate with his family and everyone who loved him. We hope those who carried out this heinous crime will brought to justice; so that he would not have died in vain. Justice, must be our arbiter as a country. This is our human capital that we are wasting. It is unfair, especially to his family who made an investment on him”.
Meanwhile, The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has written to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, urging her to “urgently visit Nigeria on a fact-finding mission to probe the ongoing post election violence and killings, and to identify state and non-state actors, including leaders of political parties, who are either complicit or directly responsible for the violence and killings and to send their names to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for prosecution”.
The group asked Pillay to “speak out and publicly condemn the violence and killings, and ask the Nigerian government and leaders of political parties to show responsibility and ensure full respect for the human rights of the citizens, including the right to life, to human security and property, to participation and development”.
In the petition dated 21 April 2011, and signed by SERAP Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the group expressed “concerns about the recurring violence and killings and the associated human rights violations, including the right to life, to human security, to property, to participation and development”.
“SERAP believes that your visit to Nigeria would send a strong message to the security agencies and leaders of political parties that they will be held responsible for any complicity in election violence and killings. Your investigation of the killings and identification of the perpetrators and providing the ICC Prosecutor with the information would also help to provide justice to the victims, and promote greater security and respect for human rights in future elections,” the group also said.
According to the group, “The lack of accountability for the violence and killings has reached a crisis point; the ongoing lack of justice for the victims is undermining the credibility of the electoral process. We believe that unpunished violence and killings makes it difficult for fair, free and transparent elections, let alone longer-term democratic processes that can guarantee respect for human rights, to take root and function properly.”
The group also said: “We believe that, in the present circumstances, it is doubtful if the government and the leaders of political parties will be able to address the declining security and human rights situation. Given the experience of the past, it is unlikely that there will be any national legal action to effectively identify, prosecute and punish those responsible.”
The group also expressed “concern that the violence and killings may slow the consolidation of democracy and good governance in the country, and contribute to further denial of the citizens’ internationally recognized human rights, including economic and social rights”.
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