Despite the denial from the Nigerian Army, the families of six soldiers who were allegedly secretly tried and executed in Abuja have filed a case at the International Criminal Court against the Nigerian Army and the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.).
According to SaharaReporters, Barrister E. R. Okoroafor who represents the families said they knew the army would not own up to their action so they decided to take the case to the ICC.
Okoroafor stated that he was at the ICC in the Hague, the Netherlands, where he personally made the application, adding that army authorities and Buratai would be served the court papers in the coming week.
Recall that a coalition of civil societies in the South-East had in a statemen on Monday alleged that six soldiers, attached to the Armoury Department of the Mogadishu Cantonment, Asokoro, otherwise known as Abacha Barracks, Abuja, were secretly tried and executed in the last days of Buratai as COAS.
Emeka Umeagbalasi, the Board Chair, International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law and Prof Anthony Ejiofor-Chairman of the World Igbo Congress in the United States, among others, had signed the report saying that the soldiers, of South-East extraction, were not given fair hearing before their alleged execution.
The activists had given the names of those allegedly executed as; Prince Ukwuoma, Ebube Isaiah, Amos Azubuike, Ekene Ebere, Moses Anyim and Godwin Uchendu.
Nigerian Army’s Position
The Nigerian Army had told members of the public to ignore the report, describing it as “fake news” and “malicious publication.”
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Sagir Musa, labelled the incident as “gutter news” but failed to give details of the whereabouts of the mentioned soldiers and what truly transpired.
Okoroafor, who spoke SaharaReporters from the United States and noted that he was in Abuja only last week, stated that he stood by his claims and he did not expect the army to accept the claims.
“I do not expect them to own up. As a matter of fact, when they denied the Obigbo massacre but between then and now, we have been able to bring out 100 victims.
“As I speak now, I am at the Hague at the ICC and we are filing a case against them. They should come and tell us at the ICC. We have evidence already against them. They are known for denials.
“I am in contact with the family members. I was actually contacted by one of the brothers of the slain soldiers. But because of the porousness of the country, we don’t want to expose them to unnecessary harm.
“When we get to ICC, we are going to present their family members. We filed the case on Thursday. Before next week, they will be properly served.”
