A human rights organization, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has accused the Nigerian Military, Police, and DSS of carrying out atrocities against the defenseless civilian population in Eastern Nigeria.
In its most recent report, Intersociety said that in two years (Oct 2020-Oct 2022) the Nigerian Army, Police, and others arrested 150 defenseless women in the East, falsely labeled them “Biafra Members”, tortured and degraded them for Six to 18 Months without trial or securing a single conviction in court.
Image : Sahara Reporters.
In the chilling report signed by the group's principal officers - Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chidinma Udegbunam, Chinwe Umeche, and Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Intersociety
revealed that," Generally speaking, not less than 300 defenseless women have been arrested in connection with false “Biafra Membership” accusation and out of this number; no fewer than 150 were brutally tortured and degraded and others paid through the nose to secure their freedom.
"Among the worst affected 150, scores have momentarily or permanently disappeared by their Police, Army, and DSS captors.
"The dignity of womanhood and sanctity of life and civil liberties of the affected women have egregiously and grisly been targeted for abuse and violence by the country’s crude and barbarous security forces. This is to the extent of attacking and abducting women in labor and newly delivered nursing mothers.
Intersociety noted that the authorities of the Nigerian military, Directorate of State Security, DSS, and the Police used their "crack squads " or " special forces " to carry out the abuses recklessly on defenseless women in eastern Nigeria.
"The litany of abuses and violations against women include falsely and baselessly labeling them “IPOB members” or “wives and mothers of IPOB/ESN members” or “cooks and nurses for IPOB members” or “mothers-in-law, sisters, and girlfriends of IPOB members”.
"Other custodial atrocities against defenseless women are indiscriminate arrest, indecent assault, verbal abuses, stigmatization, trumped up charges or accusations, custodial and outside custodial sexual harassment, torture including deprivation of sanitary pads and toiletries, rape, de-virginity and other virginal abuses such as torturing detained pregnant females till they pass out.
"The rest are reckless use of prosecutorial vindictiveness leading to long detention (six months-18 months or more) without trial, denial of custodial liberties such as being left under inhuman and degrading conditions, custodial extortion, and denial of access to family members, doctors, and lawyers and lack of fair trial and fair hearing during the trial.
Intersociety further noted that hundreds of defenseless women in eastern Nigeria, especially those within the non-menopausal age bracket have also become victims of rape and sexual assault.
"Aside from the atrocities of the military, DSS, and the Police against defenseless Eastern Judeo-Christian women, dozens, if not hundreds of them, especially those in the non-menopausal age bracket, have also in the past two years either become rape or sexual assault and lethal victims of the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen protected by the Nigerian security forces in Eastern forests, bushes, and farmlands.
The group maintained that the crudity and brigandage adopted by the Nigerian Military, Police, and Spy Police in their operations are very strange and alien to Nigeria’s body of laws as well as regional and international instruments.
Military, Police, And DSS Are Culpable.
According to Intersociety, its investigations revealed that the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, and the DSS are responsible for carrying out the said atrocities against defenseless women in Eastern Nigeria.
"These they have perpetrated using different patterns. DSS and Army are notorious for denial of arrest and detention responsibility as in most cases when families go to them to enquire about the whereabouts of their ‘missing mothers’, denial of responsibility is usually the answer given to such families.
"This is a clear case of security abduction and disappearance without traces in the eyes of international law.
"The Police crack squads such as “IRT”, “STS” and “Anti Terrorism” Squads on the other hand are noted, in some cases, for admitting arrest and detention responsibility but earned notoriety for torturing and holding such women for long periods without trial spanning from six to eighteen months or above.
Security Agencies Now An Outlaw.
The rights group noted that despite the arbitrary arrests and detentions, the three security agencies have yet to secure any conviction against any of the affected persons.
"The purpose of arresting and detaining citizens for crimes is to secure a conviction under the principle of fair trial and fair hearing or administrative or court discharge and acquittal with payment of adequate compensation if the accusation leading to the arrest and detention was made in fatal error or bad faith.
"But in the case of the three security agencies mentioned especially the Police and the DSS which have civil prosecutorial powers, it is on record that no single conviction has been secured against any of the defenseless women wrongly arrested and spuriously accused of “Biafra Membership”.
"The three security agencies are now an outlaw by gravely detaining the defenseless and wrongly accused women beyond the constitutionally provided sixty days without bail in the case of accusation bordering on committing capital offenses.
"The inability of the named security agencies to secure a single conviction is occasioned by spurious and trumped-up nature of accusations or charges leveled with no single evidence to sustain them at a court trial. These, they have been doing using prosecutorial vindictiveness ."
Intersociety cited some of the cases used in its study including that of Ifeyinwa Egole, Maria Ezediaru, Ngozi Umeadi, and 53 defenseless Obigbo Women who were abducted by soldiers of the 34 Nigerian Army Brigade, Obinze in Owerri in October 2020.
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