Chidi Samuel || Nigeria security forces were Wednesday accused by Amnesty International of killing 150 peaceful pro-Biafra protesters and intimidating media professionals and activists in the country. This will not be the first time Amnesty International will be accusing Nigeria security operatives of extrajudicial killings of the of the Pro Biafran agitators.
In the current report, the organisation said that in southeast Nigeria, security forces led by the military embarked on a chilling campaign of arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances.”
“Many individuals are still being detained incommunicado while state security agents have killed at least 150 peaceful pro-Biafra protesters.”
In the report, it accused politicians of wielding “a toxic, dehumanizing ‘us vs them’ rhetoric” and the Nigerian government of using “harsh, disproportionate measures to respond to legitimate security fears”.
“2016 was the year when the cynical use of ‘us vs them’ narratives of blame, hate and fear took on a global prominence to a level not seen since the 1930s. Across the world, and in Nigeria specifically, we witnessed governments responding to legitimate dissent with extreme measures that had devastating impacts on the civic space,” the report said.
“The past year has also seen a disturbing rise in arrests and intimidation of media professionals and activists in Nigeria. At least ten journalists and bloggers were arrested in 2016, some for alleged connections to Boko Haram, in a crackdown that appears to have been orchestrated to suffocate freedom of expression.”
