CSOs petition NHRC, demand probe of insecurity in South East

A coalition of civil society organisations has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission, demanding an urgent and thorough investigation into the escalating insecurity and systematic human rights violations in Southeast Nigeria.

The groups, in a co-signed petition on Thursday, noted the frequency of organised attacks, killings, extortion, sexual violence, and destruction of properties in the region, and urged the NHRC to deploy all resources available to it, including appointing a Special Investigation to inquire into such incidences.

They faulted the FG’s one-dimensional approach to the rising insecurity in the southeast, as well as the deployment of military forces rather than dialoguing with the agitators, noting that the strategy only escalated insecurity fuelling the circle of violence.

“It is in the context of the rising and increasingly systematic abuse of human rights in the Southeast, the violation of well-established legal standards, and the failure of human rights duty bearers that we call on the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the state of human rights in the Southeast, including incessant killings and destruction of individual and communal property.

“We are concerned by the oppressive atmosphere of siege, impunity, and fear partly engendered by the federal government’s single narrative that narrows insecurity in the southeast almost exclusively to the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

“This single narrative explains why the federal government ignores other drivers and dimensions of insecurity and the need for a holistic and multidimensional approach.

“It also informs the federal government’s tendency to solely deploy force in its response to insecurity, and its neglect of community engagement and dialogue, as well as addressing the socio-economic and political root causes and drivers of crime and insecurity. This approach has contributed to escalating insecurity, fuelling the cycle of violence and resulting in gross human rights violations,” the petition read.

The petitioners also highlighted cases of abuse by both state and non-state actors including the invasion of the Igga Community in Enugu state, resulting in the death of a 70-year-old resident, Richard Okoye, and the killing of five persons by alleged herdsmen in Nimbo community in Enugu state.

Others include the massacre of persons arising from conflicts between Ezza-Effium and Ezza-Ezeilo communities in Ebonyi State; the sacking of communities in Orsu local government area of Imo State; the harassment and extortion of citizens at Checkpoint in the southeast, among others.

The coalition expressed confidence that an investigation into the cases would identify the root causes of the violence, the perpetrators, and the victims, and recommend measures to ensure justice and reparations.

They also called for the NHRC to hold federal, state, and local governments, as well as security agencies, accountable for their failures to protect human rights in the Southeast.

Some organisations who signed the petition were the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre; the Initiative for Public Safety, Security and Educational Development in Nigeria; and the Vivacious Development Initiative, among others.