December 12,2022 may have come and gone but the memory will remain indelible in the minds of families that lost their beloved ones, properties amongst Others over alleged military invasion.
Nigerian Soldiers had on the 12 of December 2022 invaded Obeagu community, Ishielu local government area Ebonyi state allegedly set many houses ablaze , left many injured as an undisclosed number of youths lost their lives.
Information to this medium revealed that the said
soldiers stormed the community to arrest an alleged leader of the Eastern Security Network, the security arm of Indigenous People of Biafra, who hailed from the community.
A source told our correspondent that the said suspects, known as Chocho, Moneke Nnamdi, Chibuzo Caliatus and others were said to be at large when the military personnel invaded around the community at about 5am and started shooting indiscriminately, burning houses including the family house of the said suspects
“Bullets as gathered rained on People’s houses as well as Teagas.
Speaking to this Medium, a Community leader in the said community who gave his name as Chief Chukwudi revealed that the Community has been searching for the whereabouts of the said suspects, Moneke Nnamdi amongst Other suspects who he described as innocent natives of their Community since the invasion of the Military in the area.
Although an eyewitness, who pleaded not to be named, said there was no casualty during the attack but reports had it that a good number of youths were allegedly killed during the said invasion.
An impeccable source hinted this Medium that the villagers were surprised at the invasion because there had not been any attack by ESN members in the area rather what the ESN do was to protect their vulnerable women and aged mothers from Fulani herders. We have not had any issue with IPOB or its security wing ESN. In short, it is the ESN that stopped herdsmen kidnappings, killings and rape of women in the community and Farms.Where were the soldiers when the Fulani herdsmen were ruining the community before the emergence of the ESN?”
He noted that before the Monday invasion the military had engaged in show of strength, parading the entire town everyday. This development, he said, made the people to live in fear and those who could not withstand it ran away from the Community.
He further revealed that the Traditional Ruler appealed with the Youths of the Community to run away from the Community until peace returns since they were the major targets of the Military who believed that they are all members of the outlawed IPOB and ESN Security outfit.
However, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders has condemned the gruesome killings of innocent civilians and burning of their houses and properties allegedly committed by soldiers in the South-East, describing it as “wicked, villainous and barbaric”
The group in a statement captioned, ‘The Nigeria Military’s murderous excesses in Ishielu Local Government of Ebonyi State, an aberration to the rule of law,’ said the Nigerian military has no constitutional right to move into a civilian community let alone shooting, killing and burning community houses, describing it as genocide and such act amount to ethnic cleansing.
The said statement which was signed by the group’s President General and Publicity Secretary, Mr Goodluck Ibem and Comrade Okey Nworu respectively as published in Sahara Reporters said the burning of community houses said to belong to a suspect or the family can only mean one thing, that soldiers were hired by a superior authority to wipe out the Igbos.
The statement partly read, “The Military under the democratic setting is governed by constitutional norms. The Nigerian Constitution being the grand norm, absolutely prohibits the use of extra judicialkillings of citizens under section 33 (1).
What on earth will make soldiers who are paid with taxpayers money to invade a civilian community killing anything on sight and burning down houses if not to conquer the territory.
Obeagu Community is a peaceful and law-abiding community. The community has not been in the news for the wrong reasons. For the Nigerian military to move into a peaceful and and law-abiding community to cause mahem on innocent people leaves much to be desired. Truly Igboland has been marked for take over by the Fulani using the Nigeria military but they will not succeed.
“We call on the South-East governors who are the Chief Security Officers of their various states to stand up on their feet and defend their states. If they keep quiet believing that they are secured because they have security around them, very soon same problem will befall them. The time to address and arrest the situation in the bud is now.”
The youth leaders however, called on the United Nations and the international Communities to immediately come to the aid of the people of South-East which according to them have been marked for destruction and majority of them are Christians.
“We hereby demand for an independent panel of inquiry into the genocide allegedly committed by Nigerian soldiers in Obeagu community and the massive destruction of houses. The soldiers that carried out the burning and killings must be fished out and tried for committing war crime against the people.”
Meanwhile, efforts made to get reaction of the Nigerian Army were unsuccessful as the number of the spokesman of the military, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu was not reachable at the time of filing this report.
Recall that a group (Intersociety ) has given out number of people clamped down by the Nigerian Military in the South East region.
According to the group, In 2020-2022, Nigerian Army, Police allegedly Killed Over 700 Civilians, Arrested 1000 Suspects, Burnt Down Over 600 Private Residences
The group disclosed this in a statement signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman; Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire, Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law and Chidinma Udegbunam and Head, Campaign and Publicity Department as reported by Sahara Reporters.
According to them in the said medium,out of about 1100 civilian arrests, not less than 220 or 20% of persons were “abducted and disappeared without traces”
“The named security agencies perpetrated the above outside the law and modern operational ethics and codes.
“Those arrested by soldiers were also found to have run the high risk of never coming back alive for eternity.
“From various accounts recorded by Intersociety including the Obigbo Army war-grade attack of October to November 2020 in Rivers State, out of every five unarmed civilians arrested by soldiers, four run the high risk of never returning to their families alive. Soldiers of the Nigerian Military had also in 12 months of 2022 burned down or destroyed no fewer than 600 defenseless civilian homes worth billions of naira and sacked over 18,000 from their ancestral homes.
SaharaReporters had recently reported invasion of communities in the South East part of the country leading to killing of residents and burning houses.
