Shock and outrage have trailed a trending
video, which shows at least five Nigerian soldiers shooting a suspected Boko
Haram eight times, before burying him in a shallow grave.
The trending, which came online
yesterday, forced the Nigerian Army to quickly come up with a press statement,
vowing to investigate the matter and ensure the soldiers involved are punished.
The two minutes video showed a soldier
untying a near naked man, tied to the back of a van. The van is painted
military colour. The victim’s hands and legs were bound. His hands were tied
behind. The video showed four soldiers in camouflage uniform, minus the fifth person
recording the incident.
After the soldier untied the victim, he
dragged him out of the van, forcing the victim to land heavily on the ground.
The place was a sandy area covered with green foliage. The soldier dragged the
victim on the ground, while he writhed in pains.
The soldier made a beeline to where
another soldier was busy digging a grave, apparently meant for the victim.
A voice speaking in Yoruba and pidgin
English could be heard at the background saying: “I left my place to come and
meet you. Oga leave him; let them beat him, so that he would feel the pains.
Let him die! God will punish you! It is because of you that we left our town
and place; it will not be well with you. God will punish you; you’ll see
soldiers, you’ll slaughter them. Look at me, I’m from Epe. I came all the way
from Epe to Maduiguri. Is Maduiguri my state?”
While the camera was still rolling,
another soldier came to join the first and they both dragged the victim on the
ground. His head soon started bleeding.
In the midst of the pulling and dragging,
a voice was heard sharply saying: “Don’t fire him yet!”
The Yoruba speaking voice retorted: “Let
him fire him!
The victim was dumped into the fresh
grave with his hands and legs still tied. The soldiers opened fire, shooting at
close range. The victim was shot eight times and then, a voice ordered, “It’s
enough!”
As the soldiers begin to fill the grave
with sand, the Yoruba speaking voice urged others, “Oga let’s cut off his legs.”
This was said when the men realised that the length of the grave couldn’t take the
victim’s frame. Another soldier came forward and used his boot to stomp on the
dead victim’s leg, forcing to enter the grave.
Reacting to the horrifying video, Executive
Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC),
Okechukwu Nwanguma, said: “Whatever it is, except in the course of combat, or
when the lives of security agents or those of others are under threat, there's
no justification for executing suspects. It's purely extrajudicial in its most
barbaric and brutal form.”
Nwanguma further said: “Even if the
fellow seen being brutalised and inhumanely treated in that video is a
suspected insurgent, and having been captured by the soldiers, the law requires
that he be investigated and if there's credible evidence against him, arraign
him in court for trial. Killing him and burying him in a shallow grave is
unlawful and unconstitutional. It does not solve, but rather compounds crime.
What was his crime? What confessions did he make? Are there others associated
with him -if he is involved in crime? We will never get to know. The army
officers in the video who carried out that barbaric execution and burial should
be identified, investigated and made to face trial.”
The trending video also had the army
responding via a statement, signed by Acting Director Army Public Relations,
Colonel Sagir Musa, states: “The attention of the Nigerian Army (NA) has been
drawn to a video reportedly showing some NA personnel engaged in unprofessional
torture and above all extra judicial killing of a suspected Boko Haram
terrorist likely in the North East Theatre of Operation.”
Musa added: “The NA wishes to clearly
and strongly condemn the action of those involved (whoever they may be) in
the misconduct, and that the dastardly
act is completely unacceptable, unethical and is against the cherished core
values of the NA especially that of respect for others and their fundamental
rights.
“NA training, Rules of Engagement and
Standing Operating Procedures guiding the conduct of all her operations are
unambiguous about human rights abuses and extra judicial actions including the
rights of the arrested/captured terrorists/combatants. Troops in the various
theaters of operations in Nigeria have been consistently warned to desist from
rights infractions of any form no matter the amount of desperation, anger or
provocation. NA does not license, encourage or condone indiscipline,
unprofessional conduct especially extra judicial execution of suspects or
combatants. Where ever, such is noticed or reported, once it is confirmed,
appropriate decisive sanction or punishment is usually immediately meted out to
the perpetrators and this case would never be an exception.”
The colonel explained that on seeing the
gory video, NA has commenced thorough investigation to apprehend the culprits
with the aim to deal with them in accordance with the extant military justice
system. “Members of the public will surely be informed of the results of the
actions taken so far,” he said.
He further noted that the NA, as a
responsible and law abiding organisation, “will remain professional in the
discharge of its constitutional roles and will continue to operate within the
ambit of the law in line with the local and international best practices.”
No comments:
Post a Comment