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Buratai: Intersociety asked to provide proof of “execution of Igbo soldiers”

Published

4 years ago

February 4, 2021

The Coalition of Civil Rights Group (CCRG) has challenged Intersocitey to issue proof of alleged “execution of Igbo soldiers” on the order of former Army Chief, Tukur Buratai.

The Nigerian Army debunked the claim, insisting the military doesn’t engage in secret prosecution..

In a statement on Thursday, Kunle Adeyemo, CCRG Director, said those behind the allegation were pushing narratives of ethnic division.

In its alert, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) noted that soldiers of other ethnicities were exonerated from the accusation of weapon theft for which the soldiers of South-East origin allegedly executed.

Adeyemo accused Intersociety of working for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), wondering why the group didn’t cry out when the supposed off the record court-martial was going on.

“The coalition quoted one Barrister E. R. Okoroafor, a supposed international human rights lawyer, who was allegedly denied the right to defend his client at the secret trial. Okoroafor was aware of the secret trial and never raised the alarm for several weeks but waited for the phantom soldiers to be executed.

“Note that affiliates of this coalition had floated another story earlier that five retired Nigerian soldiers have joined the ranks of Eastern Security Network (ESN). This is part of the attempt to create a sense of disaffection against the military institution while encouraging defection of soldiers of Igbo extraction to defect to ESN and fight for IPOB.

“To further stoke ethnic strife, IPOB members took the pain of filming themselves killing cattle and burning the homestead of herders of Fulani ancestry in the hope that there would be retaliation against Igbos in other parts of the country and consequently set off a violent chain reaction that will ground the country in violence.

“If they truly have proof, we advise them to empower their lawyers to seek appropriate channels to represent their clients instead or using the media to whip up unnecessary sentiments against a national institution like the Army”, the statement added.

CCRG advised the Nigerian Army to report Okoroafor to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other professional law associations if he failed to immediately prove his claim of murder.