110 killed, 200 injured in South East/South South
By Ife Osemedua
The recent #EndSARS protests in the South East and South South regions of the country left a trail of blood and anguish with 110 persons killed and 200 injured by the Army and Police, the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety) has said.
In a statement signed and issued on Friday in Onitsha by the Principal Officers of the group led by Emeka Umeagbalasi, who is the Board Chair, Intersociety said from verifiably statistics available to it, “the EndSARS protests in the Igbo States of Rivers (largely Igbo), Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia and Imo were turned into shooting and killing sprees by ethno-religiously imbalanced armed soldiers of the Nigerian Army and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, leading to close range shooting to death of at least 110 unarmed citizens and terminal injuring of at least 200 others.”
The group said the highest casualties were recorded in Obigbo in Rivers State, where 50 unarmed citizens were killed over 80 others injured.
“We can also confirm eleven deaths so far, out of which eight have their names identified and three yet to be named.
“Their names are: (1) Pastor Igwe (slain husband of Mrs. Amara Igwe), (2) Queen Nwazuo (slain fiancée of Mr. Monday Bakor), (3) Okoro Peter and (4) Chinwendu O.”
They were shot at close range and killed instantly by soldiers on 24th October, 2020, few metres away from Governor Nyesom Wike’s convoy, the statement added.
Intersociety noted that while most of the shootings, killings and injuries occurred in Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia States within a period of 3 days, from 21st and 24th October 2020, those of Obigbo and environs in Rivers State took place between 21st October when Governor Nyesom Wike imposed a curfew in Oyigbo Local Government Area.
The group accused Wike of aiding the killings but “has been running from pillar to pole defending himself, saying he did not invite soldiers to kill Obigbo residents”.
It said, “We also wish to state clearly that the 50 death figures and 80 gunshot injuries in Obigbo and environs are most likely to be very conservative.
“This is going by the fact that pieces of credible information are still filtering in and what we have given here is the general evaluation of what happened. The projected 50 deaths and 80 injuries were temporarily arrived at based on credible information gathered from some of the survivors, who also told us that “they saw soldiers driving away dozens of blindfolded residents of their area (Obigbo and environs) with their hands tied behind their back and taken away half naked in batches of military vehicles.”
Intersociety said it was presently carrying out extensive investigation into the massacre, especially with regard to ascertaining the final figure of the dead, the tortured, the sexually harassed, including the raped, the burnt, the destroyed, the looted, the arrested and incarcerated and the permanently disappeared.”
“We are also in possession of dozens of photos and videos of the slain and the maimed. The photos and videos clearly depict deadly use of force by the culpable soldiers and police personnel particularly in Obigbo and environs where ‘heavy’ military bullets were used against unarmed and defenseless citizens.
Other casualty figures, the group noted, include Ebonyi State where 10 persons were killed and 30 injured; Enugu State, where 10 citizens were killed and in Anambra State with 20 and 20 injured. It added that in Imo State, 10 persons were killed and 15 shot and injured.