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| Ihejirika, Others for war crimes - Amnesty International. Hpw about Gowon, Danjuma and co? |
Based on years of research and analysis of evidence - including leaked military reports and correspondence, as well as interviews with more than 400 victims, eyewitnesses and senior members of the Nigerian security forces - the organization said it outlined a range of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by the Nigerian military in the course of the fight against Boko Haram in the north-east of the country.
These were contained in a comprehensive report, Stars on their shoulders. Blood on their hands: War crimes committed by the Nigerian military, published late Wednesday morning.
The document revealed that since March 2011, more than 7,000 young men and boys died in military detention and more than 1,200 people were unlawfully killed since February 2012.
Amnesty International provided “compelling evidence” of the need for an investigation into the individual and command responsibilities of soldiers, and mid-level and senior-level military commanders. The report outlined the roles and possible criminal responsibilities of those along the chain of command - up to the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army Staff - and named nine senior Nigerian military figures who should be investigated for command and individual responsibility for the crimes committed.
They are:
* General Azubuike Ihejirika - Chief of Army Staff, Sept 2010 - Jan 2014).
* Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim - Chief of Defence Staff, Oct 2012 - Jan 2014).
* Air Chief Marshal Badeh - Chief of Defence Staff, Jan 2014 - time of writing
* General Ken Minimah - Chief of Army Staff, Jan 2014 - time of writing
* Major General John A.H. Ewansiha
* Major General Obida T Ethnan
* Major General Ahmadu Mohammed
* Brigadier General Austin O. Edokpayi
* Brigadier General Rufus O. Bamigboye
Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said the “sickening evidence” it has “exposes how thousands of young men and boys have been arbitrarily arrested and deliberately killed or left to die in detention in the most horrific conditions. It provides strong grounds for investigations into the possible criminal responsibility of members of the military, including those at the highest levels.”
Shetty continued: “Whilst an urgent and impartial investigation of these war crimes is vital, this report is not just about the criminal responsibility of individuals. It is also about the responsibility of Nigeria’s leadership to act decisively to end the pervasive culture of impunity within the armed forces.”
Perhaps Amnesty forgot about war criminals such as Yakubu Gowon, T.Y. Danjuma, Muhammadu Buhari, Olusegun Obasanjo and others still at large. Amnesty International is apparently dancing the tune of the Northern Oligarchy.
The Biafran obtained a list of 20th century mass murderers across the world and the estimated number of people killed by their orders (excluding enemy armies). Former Nigerian dictator Yakubu Gowon is ranked just below Hideki Tojo of Japan and Josef Stalin of defunct Soviet Union.
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| Boko Haram: Ihejirika, Others for war crimes - Amnesty International. Hpw about Gowon, Danjuma and co? |
Gowon is ranked well above Pol Pot of Cambodia and Kim II Sung of North Korea. Pol Pot (1925-1998) and his communist Khmer Rouge movement led Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. During that time, about 1.5 million Cambodians out of a total population of 7 to 8 million died of starvation, execution, disease or overwork. Some estimates place the death toll even higher. Although Pol Pot died in 1998 without being brought to justice, two of his associates were recently jailed over the war crimes the committed.
How Gowon became a mass murderer
On 29 July, 1966, a group of Northern Nigerian Army personnel including Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Theophilius Danjuma, Mohammadu Buhari, and Hassan Katsina kidnapped and murdered Major-General J. T. U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, the Supreme Commander and Head of the Federal Military Government. At the same time they attempted to annihilate all Eastern Nigerian Army officers and men at Ibadan, Abeokuta and Ikeja in Western Nigeria and at Kaduna, Zaria and Kano in Northern Nigeria. Nearly 200 officers and men of Eastern Nigeria origin were slaughtered. Those who escaped but later returned to their posts following assurances of safety by Gowon after he assumed leadership were also murdered.
The pogrom was soon extended to Eastern Nigerian civilians resident in Northern Nigeria, Lagos and the West; and by September, 1966, the killings and molestations carried out by the combined forces of Northern Nigerian soldiers and civilians had assumed such large proportions that Easterners everywhere outside the East sought protection within their home region.
The pogrom was soon extended to Eastern Nigerian civilians resident in Northern Nigeria, Lagos and the West; and by September, 1966, the killings and molestations carried out by the combined forces of Northern Nigerian soldiers and civilians had assumed such large proportions that Easterners everywhere outside the East sought protection within their home region.
The massacres resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 Easterners and jolted the conscience and aroused the indignation of the world.
Efforts to prevent the looming war at Aburi was scuttled by Gowon, when he failed to implement the agreements reached at the meeting. He acted in utter disregard of the Aburi Accord.
Gowon's army had went after Biafrans soldiers and civilians alike. Evidence abound of Nigeria's military fighters bombing market places (Afor Umuohiagu for instance), primary and secondary schools as well as hospital. Some of his commanders such as Benjamin Adekunle openly boasted of how his division was shooting at civilians and anything that moves in Biafra. The most commonly acknowledged is the Asaba massacre. In October 1967, a few months into the Nigerian civil war, federal troops entered Asaba, a small town on the west bank of the River Niger, in pursuit of retreating Biafran army. Over the next few days, thousands of civilians were killed, house burnt and the town left in ruins. News of the atrocities was suppressed by the Nigerian government and subsequent histories of the war barely mention the massacre.
Gowon's most effective weapon was however the starvation of Biafrans. With the help of western governments Gowon was able to blockade Biafra.
Described as the first black-on-black genocide in postcolonial Africa, the war had a terrible impact on the Igbo people with its massive civilian death toll. By the end of the first year of the war it was “already responsible for more deaths than have occurred in Vietnam and was causing the death of thousands of people each day through starvation.”
Over 3 million civilians especially women and children were starved to death due to Gowon's direct command. At the end of the war according to some sources more than 4 million Biafrans were killed.
On December 15, 1968, the American Jewish Congress issued a memorandum titled “The Tragedy of Biafra.” Phil Baum, director of the Commission on International Affairs of Congress, called attention the humanitarian tragedy going on in Biafra: “For more than a year, a little noticed but nonetheless savage and tragic war has been going on between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the former Eastern Region of that country which, in May 1967, proclaimed its independence as the Republic of Biafra.”
Efforts to prevent the looming war at Aburi was scuttled by Gowon, when he failed to implement the agreements reached at the meeting. He acted in utter disregard of the Aburi Accord.
Related Stories:
- "I have to kill the Igbos. sorry!"- Adekunke: The infamous Adekunle's interview that revealed the true intent of Nigerian forces
- Gowon ranks sixth among world's mass murderers well above Pol Pot of Cambodia and Kim Il Sung of North Korea
- Revisionist History: Gowon alledges that Ojukwu lied about Aburi Accord
- Khmer Rouge Guilty Verdict: Time for Gowon, Obasanjo, Danjuma and others to face prosecution for genocide and war crimes
- Gowon's failure to implement Aburi Accord the cause of Biafra-Nigeria War
- Biafrans mobilise to stop Gowon from delivering lecture at Ojukwu Varsity
Gowon's army had went after Biafrans soldiers and civilians alike. Evidence abound of Nigeria's military fighters bombing market places (Afor Umuohiagu for instance), primary and secondary schools as well as hospital. Some of his commanders such as Benjamin Adekunle openly boasted of how his division was shooting at civilians and anything that moves in Biafra. The most commonly acknowledged is the Asaba massacre. In October 1967, a few months into the Nigerian civil war, federal troops entered Asaba, a small town on the west bank of the River Niger, in pursuit of retreating Biafran army. Over the next few days, thousands of civilians were killed, house burnt and the town left in ruins. News of the atrocities was suppressed by the Nigerian government and subsequent histories of the war barely mention the massacre.
Gowon's most effective weapon was however the starvation of Biafrans. With the help of western governments Gowon was able to blockade Biafra.
Described as the first black-on-black genocide in postcolonial Africa, the war had a terrible impact on the Igbo people with its massive civilian death toll. By the end of the first year of the war it was “already responsible for more deaths than have occurred in Vietnam and was causing the death of thousands of people each day through starvation.”
Over 3 million civilians especially women and children were starved to death due to Gowon's direct command. At the end of the war according to some sources more than 4 million Biafrans were killed.
On December 15, 1968, the American Jewish Congress issued a memorandum titled “The Tragedy of Biafra.” Phil Baum, director of the Commission on International Affairs of Congress, called attention the humanitarian tragedy going on in Biafra: “For more than a year, a little noticed but nonetheless savage and tragic war has been going on between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the former Eastern Region of that country which, in May 1967, proclaimed its independence as the Republic of Biafra.”
Despite the evidence that there were meticulously planned and implemented political project of exterminating the Igbo ethnic group in Northern Nigeria before the war and in other parts of Nigeria during the war, the genocide has been mischaracterized as a civil war. In what can be called “an invisible genocide,” the Igbo genocide was masked by the attempts by both federal Nigeria and major western nations to downplay the evidence of the genocide perpetrated against the Igbo ethnic group as well as its deeper roots in the pre-civil war period.
As could be seen from the list below most of Gowon's partners of renowned mass murderers have one way or the other paid the price for their crimes. However, Gowon is still roaming freely in Nigeria and across the world. The so far non trial of Gowon for war crimes is the greatest injustice the world has meted out to Biafrans.
As could be seen from the list below most of Gowon's partners of renowned mass murderers have one way or the other paid the price for their crimes. However, Gowon is still roaming freely in Nigeria and across the world. The so far non trial of Gowon for war crimes is the greatest injustice the world has meted out to Biafrans.
Related Stories:
- "I have to kill the Igbos. sorry!"- Adekunke: The infamous Adekunle's interview that revealed the true intent of Nigerian forces
- Gowon ranks sixth among world's mass murderers well above Pol Pot of Cambodia and Kim Il Sung of North Korea
- Revisionist History: Gowon alledges that Ojukwu lied about Aburi Accord
- Khmer Rouge Guilty Verdict: Time for Gowon, Obasanjo, Danjuma and others to face prosecution for genocide and war crimes
- Gowon's failure to implement Aburi Accord the cause of Biafra-Nigeria War
- Biafrans mobilise to stop Gowon from delivering lecture at Ojukwu Varsity
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