How to document human rights violation cases in Igboland- Civil Society Coalition

On behalf of the Eastern Rights CSOs and Intelligentsia Coalition (a coalition of 40 Rights CSOs and Intelligentsia bodies), Intersociety hereby appeals and invites members of the public in the East including town union, human rights and Christian faith activists or leaders particularly in Igbo Land part of Benue, Kogi and Edo and Eastern Nigerian States of Delta, Anambra, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi to report to us any human rights violation in their areas by the following: Army, Navy, Air Force (i.e. killing of unarmed and defenseless citizens through air bombings), SSS, Police and its various operational squads.

Others are joint military and police special squads, jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and their ‘Banditry’ counterparts, etc. This appeal is authorized by Emeka Umeagbalasi and Barr Chidimma Udegbunam, Board Chair and Publicity Head of Intersociety

The human rights violations being focused on include: late night abductions and disappearances involving unarmed and defenseless citizens, burning down or destruction of living houses and sacred places of worship and learning, arrest and detention of civilians by army, navy and air force, police long detention of citizens without trial, sexual violence against women including abduction, rape and death-rape; extrajudicial shooting and killing (i.e. instant or custodial killing of unarmed citizens), false labeling and trumped up charges, indiscriminate late night invasion of dwelling houses and broad day light shooting of unarmed citizens, assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and torture; Fulani Herdsmen and Fulani Bandits’ killings or destruction and seizure of farmlands and abduction, disappearance, rape and broad day and captivity murder of women and others.

Details concerning the victims of human rights violation include: full name of the victim and his/her gender, age, religion and number of kids borne (if she is a married woman), victim’s community, local government area and state of origin; time, date and location of the rights violation and type of rights abuse perpetrated; whereabouts of his/her body if killed and disappeared or name of security agency responsible for his/her body’s disappearance; name and contacts of victim’s next-of-kin; number of victims (if group victims) and name of the state actor or non state actor entity that perpetrated the human rights violation.

The purposes of this clarion call are to document and expose the atrocities perpetrated and their perpetrators for global attention and accountable-justice including trial at ICC and others as well as to safeguard the unarmed and defenseless citizens from remote and immediate operational atrocities of the Nigerian security agencies-noted globally as serial abusers and violators of human rights.

We are also determined at documenting and exposing the atrocities of the jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and their ‘Banditry’ counterparts across the East particularly in Igbo Land; being perpetrated for purpose of advancing the Government backed jihad project but deceitfully camouflaged as “rural cattle grazing”. We must not allow the ongoing grisly or ‘industrial scale’ human rights abuses and violations in Igbo Land and the rest of Eastern Nigeria to continue!