Ukan P Kurugh
Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru
Chief of Army Staff.

Sir,

THE EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLINGS AND ASSAULT PERPETRATED BY THE SOLDIERS OF THE NIGERIAN ARMY ON INNOCENT RESIDENTS IN BENUE STATE.

It is with a deep sense of patriotism and duty to our dear nation that I write you this letter over the unjustifiable harrasment and extra judicial killings of innocent residents in Benue State by soldiers of the Nigerian Army.

There exists a plethora of sad accounts of the ordeal narrated by victims who have been mercilessly tortured by the soldiers of the Nigerian Army, some of such victims narrowly escaping with their lives. Recently, the army ravaged a community known as Agboghul in Makurdi, Benue State. They subjected the residents in the community to horrible forms of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment over the excesses of one its members. One of the victims of this attack is Joseph Odeh a staff of Benue State Environmental and Sanitation Authority (BENSESA) who was innocently doing his laundry in his house when soldiers stormed his house, tied him up and beat him to stupor amidst the cries of his mother. He is still receiving treatment for the injuries sustained.
Sir, it may interest you to know that your soldiers also beat up a doctor who is currently a senior Registrar with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) on his way to his official call duty, despite identifying himself with his ID card. It is reported that the soldiers seized the ID card broke it and forced him to lie flat on the bare ground whilst threatening the already freightened doctor with their firearms. Just as pockets of these unprovoked attacks on innocent civilians are recorded daily, it appears that nothing is already being put in place to abate this ugly situation.

All over the world there exists standard accepted conventions and protocols on the rules of engagement, for which the military and paramilitary must comply with especially in its interactions with civilians and the Nigerian Army should not be an exception. For every civil society there must be strict adherence to laid down laws and procedures by all else such a society hastily degenerates.

The situation in Benue State is already tensed owing to the violence and incessant killings metted out by the fulani herdsmen. An average citizen is already too traumatised and cannot afford to be afraid of the military who are meant to protect us!

It is on this note that we most respectfully urge you Sir, to use your good office to intervene as a matter of urgency, and call your soldiers to order, so as to douse the building tension and apprehension amongst residents in the state.

Yours Faithfully
Ukan Kurugh

Cc. Chief of Defence Staff.
Amnesty International
United Nations
United Nations Human Rights
Human Rights Watch

Ukan P Kurugh is an activist and a humanitarian worker.

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