Nigerian soldiers
There
was public outrage on Tuesday over the massacre of no fewer than
185 people during a clash on Saturday between the militant Islamic
sect, Boko Haram and the Multinational Joint Task Force in Baga, Borno
State.
The condemnation came from the
National Assembly, the Northern Elders Forum, the Action Congress of
Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive Change and Spain.
While members of the Senate decided
after hearing a motion on the clash to probe the killings,
lawmakers in the House called for a judicial commission of inquiry.
In Kaduna, the Northern Elders Forum,
after its meeting with the Arewa Consultative Forum, feared that the
massacre could threaten the planned amnesty for Boko Haram members.
Immediately after hearing a motion by
Maina Lawan, President of the Senate, David Mark, directed the
Committees on Defence, Police and National Security and Intelligence to
probe the allegations that most of the victims were civilians. The
committees are to report back in two weeks.
Mark did not allow the motion to be debated on the grounds of security implications and the sensitive nature of the matter.
He said, “There are standard rules of
engagement and that do not include mass and extrajudicial killings. The
level of death is just too high and we cannot accept that.”
Maina had in his motion, said that Baga which is his hometown, was in ruins following the onslaught.
He said, “My hometown of Baga is today
in ruins, with 180 to 200 human lives lost and numerous others
unaccounted for. About 2000 homes, 62 cars and 284 motorcycles and
tons and tons of foodstuff were also destroyed.
“At this stage, I do not want to immerse
myself in the blame game of whether it is the multinational task force
or not. The task force or the insurgents carried out the atrocities
that bear the hallmark of the Odi massacre.
“Whoever did it, that level of atrocity
is condemnable and is hereby condemned. I call for a full scale
investigation to unearth the truth as this has become a recurring
decimal in all such past instances in Borno State.”
Lawan told journalists after plenary
that there was no contesting the fact that the insurgents attacked
members of the task force.
“It is true that the insurgents
provoked the event. One soldier was shot, but the military went back and
came back reinforced and Baga was levelled,” the lawmaker said.
He said the killing of innocent people over the action of a few miscreants was unfair.
In the House, members passed a
resolution asking President Goodluck Jonathan to set up a commission of
inquiry to investigate the clash.
A lawmaker from Borno State, Mr.
Mohammed Mungono, told the House that about 195 civilians and one
soldier were killed in the incident.
He informed his colleagues that
trouble started when Boko Haram members attacked the soldiers and
then infiltrated civilian population.
According to him, in an attempt to
retaliate, the soldiers fired in whatever direction the attackers ran
to, killing non-sect members in the process.
He noted that while the soldiers were in
Borno State to provide security, the aim could be defeated if they were
“not professional” in the manner they conducted their operations.
The lawmakers then observed a minute’s
silence in honour of the dead and adopted the prayers of Mungono,
calling for a judicial commission to investigate the killings.
But, there was a mild drama when another
prayer asking the House to send a delegation to commiserate with the
families of the victims, elicited murmurs of rejection from members.
Speaker Aminu Tambuwal had suggested that the Deputy House Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, would lead the delegation.
In Kaduna, the Northern Elders Forum
which like the House members called for a commission of inquiry instead
of probe as promised by President Goodluck Jonathan, said the killings
were highly uncalled for.
Its spokesman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said the latest onslaught cast doubt on the planned amnesty for members of Boko Haram.
According to him, an allegation that a soldier was killed could not have warranted the Army to wipe out an entire community.
He said,“We advised against it much
earlier than now. The fact that the President is saying there should be a
probe means he is not saying more than he had said before.There
have been so many people who were mercilessly killed in their sleep
and their houses ransacked in the name of searching for Boko Haram
members.
“This certainly is not the way an
operation like this should be conducted. That is why we believe the
President need not order a probe. We need a judicial commission of
inquiry to unravel what has happened in Baga. The commission of inquiry
should have expanded terms of reference for people to come before it to
raise issues that have been happening in Borno and Yobe states.”
Abdullahi said the National Executive Committee of the ACF and NEF to deliberate on the state of the nation.
He said, “We elders of the North came to
ACF to exchange ideas and views on the state of the nation generally
and the state of the north in particular. Most of these soldiers that
are posted to these areas (Yobe and Borno states) are not only raw as
soldiers, but they are coming from totally different backgrounds. ACF
Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, said the forum would meet today
(Wednesday) over the Baga killings.
The Commander of the MNJTF, Brig.- Gen.
Austin Edokpaye, has however claimed that only six civilians were
killed and not the 185 widely reported by the media on Monday.
Edokpaye, in a three-paragraph
statement he sent to journalists in Maiduguri, also said that 30 thatch
houses were burnt as against 2,000 which Baga residents told Borno
State Governor, Kashim Shettima, when he visited the community.
Edokpaye said the troops killed 30 Boko
Haram gunmen and arrested five others. According to him, a soldier
died and five others sustained injuries.
He said “Contrary to media speculation
that hundreds of houses were burnt, instead, it was the explosion from
Boko Haram terrorists’rocket propelled grenade bombs, anti -aircraft
guns and sophisticated IED materials that triggered fire to about 30
thatch houses in the predominantly fishing community.”
He also said that three rocket
propelled grenade launchers, two rocket propelled grenade bombs; four AK
47 rifles, 435 assorted ammunitions, seven quantities of IED material,
and three Toyota Land Cruisers, were recovered from the sect members.
The Borno State Government said on Tuesday that ‘over 100 people’ were killed.
In Lagos, the ACN criticised the
Federal Government’s handling of the killings, calling it slow and
disrespectful to the sanctity of human lives
The party, in a statement by its
National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the security
agencies must respect the relevant rules of engagement in their
onslaught against the sect.
This, it added, was necessary in order to spare the lives and property of innocent civilians.
The party said it hoped that the probe
ordered into the tragedy by President Goodluck Jonathan would not be
another window dressing.
Also, the CPC said it was outraged by what it called the wanton destruction of lives and property in Baga.
Its National Publicity Secretary,
Rotimi Fashakin, noted in a statement that the attendant ecological
disruption and huge humanitarian calamity had attracted so much
attention.
But Spain condemned the clash and expressed worry about weapons used by the group to fight soldiers.
A statement made available by its
Embassy in Abuja, reads, “Spain expresses its serious concern on the
use on this occasion of heavy artillery which indicates a qualitative
increase in the escalation of tension on the part of the insurgents
causing at the time more damage and pain among the population.
“Spain expresses its solidarity and
support to the victims and their families and hopes that those
responsible for these terrorist attacks are brought to justice according
to the law.
“In the same vein Spain supports the
Nigerian government in its flight against the terrorist challenge and
maintains its commitment to the flight against any form of terrorism.”
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has said that it will discuss the Baga killings on Thursday and Friday.
The killings, it said, would be among activities and events its board would review.
The two-day meeting will be attended
by the 12 members of the board which has the Executive Secretary of the
Commission, Prof. Bem Angwe, as secretary.
Confirming the meeting , the NHRC Board
Chairman, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, said, “ It is true we are meeting on
Thursday and Friday. We will come up with a position on that day”.
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