THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN NIGERIA 2005 - UNDP Nigeria ...

claimed several lives, the Federal Government set up a Task Force to rid Onitsha of all criminal armedgangs. DCP John Haruna and ACP Tanko headed the task force. The task force went about looking forMASSOB activist or anybody remotely connected to MASSOB. They raided every densely populatedarea in Onitsha, arrested and detained hundreds of youths without trial. Many sources, includingMASSOB, claim that about 200 people were arrested; many of them being released after several daysin detention. There were widespread claims that most of them were asked to pay for “bail” with amountsranging from N5, 000 to N20, 000.From Thursday June 15, 2006, the police commenced the second phase of their operation to ridOnitsha of “MASSOB and other criminal elements” Areas targeted for this operation included MpikpaLayout, Okpoko, Ntutaku,Anumudu, and Iyiowa Odekpe all in Ogbaru Local Government Area, FeggeHousing Estate, Odoakpu, Inland town, Woliwo Layout, Abakpa Forest Reserve, 33 and GRA, inOnitsha North and South LGA, Omagba Phase 1 &2 Ugwu­agba , Awada layout and Oba all inIdemmili Local Government Area.Some of the above listed areas were known to be hideouts of BCOM militants. In several of theseareas, the police merely rounded up youths between the ages of 20 and 30 and labeled them MASSOBmembers. It was not clear how the operation degenerated into a bloodbath but several sources blamedthe police for the crisis. While MASSOB claimed that the police joined with NARTO to fight MASSOB, aclaim corroborated by several residents and journalists, the police claimed that they were attacked byMASSOB who also burnt their armoured personnel carrier and a Tata bus. Several corpses were seenin several parts of the city after the crisis. At least 50 people were reportedly killed between 15 th and17 th June 2006 in Onitsha. Three people were killed at the busy Onitsha­ Owerri Road; three were killedat Okpoko area of Onitsha while one was shot dead at Obodo Ukwu Road. Nigerian Red Crossstatistics however put the death toll at 28, with 6 buildings destroyed. It was not clear which group wasresponsible for which killings but the warring groups, namely MASSOB, NARTO, and the police,contributed to the killings. Prince Moses Igwe, the Public Relations Officer of MASSOB in Onitsha gavethe names of their slain members whose bodies were recovered after the attack as Kelechi Enyinwa,Johnson Chigbo, Arinze Obodozie, Iruabuchi Odinfe, Emmanuel Udokwu, Richard Uko, ChimezieOnuigbo, Onyeka Asoanya, Azubuike Gideon and Ikechukwu Iwu. The corpses of some of those listedas dead were yet to be seen as at the time of this report.On June 14, the police announced that it had killed as many as 11 MASSOB “hoodlums” during severalraids in Ogboko and other suspected MASSOB hideouts. The Igbo Youths Congress, a NonGovernmental Organisation, said it counted about 30 corpses in different parts of the city includingAbagana, Enugwu­Ukwu and Awka, the state capital. The organisation claimed that one ChiefIloegbunam’s residence at Fegge Onitsha was invaded by about 20 mobile policemen on Friday, June30 by 2 a.m. The policemen who also robbed them of their jewelry and, unspecified sums of moneyallegedly raped his wife and daughters. 5 While this particular incident could not be comfirmed, the caseof rape and robbery by policemen during this period was rife and many residents insist they witnessedoccasions when policemen raided neighborhoods and forced residents to surrender their money,jewelry and, mobile telephone handsets. 6Also, on June 30 at about 7 p.m., along Owerri Road, two sisters, Winifred Ejike and Julie Nneka Ejikewere allegedly raped by a team of policemen. The same policemen killed their cousin, Mr. Cletus Egbe,who was with them. 75Interview with the coordinator, Ibo Youth Congress, Lagos. August 15, 20066CLO interview, Onitsha August 13, 20067Press statement by the Global Peace village network July 3, 2006. Lagos69