Murder of the innocents in Apo
By
Abubakar Sulaiman
Muhd
26/09/2013
Well,
Nigeria,
according to Karl Maier the author of this house has fallen, is a place where a writer could find something to
write everyday. The reason, perhaps, behind his assertion is the terrible
happenings he had been seeing during his service in the country as a foreign
reporter. It is true for one will be battling with what not write not what to
write on the range of issues unfolding everyday in the country peculiarly those
that catch public interest. Just recently a Karota driver chased a bus driver
dangerously at Mariri here in Kano,
in his effort to escape; his car somersaulted resulting the driver and the
passengers, bystanders and pedestrians to kick the bucket instantly. Further
investigation has shown that the Karota driver has no driving license but was
given the car of the governmental agency to drive and more disgusting is that
the agency is in charge of the road traffic regulation. This means that the
agency is just a bundle wagon of ignorant human beings. This is not the first
time Karota has been the cause of the accident on the road as many people are
always complaining about their attitude. But this is not what we shall discuss
here for Karota alone is a topic on its own.
I
was travelling to Bagwai my village with a brother to attend a personal
assignment on Friday, 20 Sept., 2013, when just I opened my gadget and found
the latest bulleting reading the “Apo killing” on Daily Trust twitter page. The
report briefly said that shootout erupted between Boko Haram and the security
operatives in an uncompleted building in Zone E of the Apo
legislative Quarters. Actually it took me some minutes before I relayed the
update to him mulling over the matter silently in my mind knowing how difficult
it must be to smuggle weapons into such sophisticated area, a home to one of
the prestigious MPs on earth, let alone attacking security operatives in such
area.
The
uncompleted building where the security killed at least seven and later the
toll rose to eight by Monday, was found to be the possession of Mrs. Adunni Oluwale Salisu, believed to be the sister to the former president Olesugun Obasanjo.
Document from the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) showed that the
property with C of O OG247326 situated at No 8 Bamanga Tukur Street, Gudu
District, belongs to Mrs Salisu, said Premium Times.
Immediately
after the killing the SSS said to the world that the incident was s shootout
with Boko Haram militants when the security launched a raid at the place
following a tip-off they received form the members of the sect in detention.
They said that they were searching weapons when they came under fire by the
sect members. But the survivors of the attack, Sani Abdurrahman Safana,
Abubakar Auwal Bichi, Yusuf Abubakar Moriki and Bashir Usman insisted that they
were not BH members but were jus squatters at the building as they could not
pay the cost of renting expensive houses in Abuja. They contradicted SSS assertion that
they were given a week eviction notice by a retired military man and all of a
sudden they were attacked just three days after the warning.
Apo
killing left many questions unanswered for at first place the spokeperson of
the Service Marlyn Orgar said that the security men were not murderers but are
paid to secure lives and property of the people. Behold the irony here, how would they kill
people under the discretion of one person and said unfazedly they are
protecting the lives and property of people? When bombarded with a seamless flow
of press interrogation after it was discovered that the killing was
extra-judicial, she then said that she stood by her previous words that the
operation was carried out after the SSS obtained information from the militant
members in detention that the building was a hideout where the militants
stashed their weapons. But she later shun any response to the question
regarding the incident when the SSS failed to showcase the weapons they found
in the building. A kind of stupidity that nobody would believe. For how the
institution that has zero tolerance on terrorism would fail to display to the
world the progress they made in the fight against terror? Another damning proof
that confirmed the inkling that the killing was a ploy to annihilate human
being is that the security men has failed, one more time, to present even
figures indicating the number of the operatives, even one person killed or
injured from the shooting since it was an indiscriminate fire exchange. The
public are still waiting to the Service to produce a proof of the shot or
injured person from their operatives as we saw those shot and injured from the
other side. And if they fail, which they definitely would, their action would
translate their grave crime of attacking unarmed persons. This has two
implications. Fist it shows that the SSS has failed to apply the civilized
professional methods of fighting in conflict situation which is meant mainly to
capture not kill in order to eke out more information regarding the rebels.
Second if the SSS killed the seven squatters out of wanton destruction of lives
to fulfill the personal desire of one individual, they should know that they
committed war crimes according to the Fourth Geneva Convention to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of Arm Conflicts which was first adopted
in 1949 based on the part of the 1907 Hague Convention IV. These killers if
found guilty for this charge alone would face the same punishment that landed
Charles Taylor in jail to serve 50-year prison term.
Many
people are opining their views that why the building was not demolished just
instantly when the security found the building because it shelters terrorists?
We know how tight the Security men are in the fight of terror whenever they
discovered a building to be the den of the militia, but still the building
remains standing. Another evidence revealing the fact that those people were
killed innocently and the elements behind the murder are those men close to
power. But no matter how powerful they appear, they will get their nemesis
sooner or later, here or in the hereafter. We also know how extreme the
Security are to pursue a person even on a spurious allegation of him being a
member of Boko Haram, which resulted the exile of many people because of the
fear that once caught they will not get fair treatment. The survivors of the
attack remained at large in Abuja, Asokoro General Hospital.
Attacking
civilian population through the conduit of war against terror is not uncommon
event in Nigeria.
It has become a norm to see security operatives maiming and killing helpless
citizens without a slightest crumb of compunction because they know they will
go unpunished. The killing in Baga is the case in point. Here in Kano for example, people
have succumbed to be loyal to the security men on whatever condition and
maltreatment they mete out to them because they just want to go unscathed with
their life along. A refusal to give even twenty Naira to the security men will
take a person to his grave.
The
blood of our fellow citizens would not go in vain. I believe advocates of
justice across the country are struggling fervently for the victims’ right as
many people especially form the states where the victims hail visited and
continue visiting the injured in the hospital and are still chanting songs of
solidarity to see justice prevail. What I expected initially was to see the
face of governors, senators, national and state assembly members from the
victims’ states receiving the corpses and even taking them to the twin chambers
for special sitting. We want to see an
army of our politicians from Kano,
Katsina, Zamfara, and Yobe infesting in the case to ensure that justice is
done. Their involvement will make the matter to be taken more seriously since
the victims are particularly helpless and less privileged persons. Compensation
alone will not do away the havoc it wrought on the victims and their family but
it is still recommended since many who have fallen into similar case previously
have been compensated. The SSS should publicly apologize to the victims for
their wrong action.
Vote
of thanks goes to Mal. Sani Shehu a-kaduna based activist for his presence
during the reception of the corpses in the hospital. A train of commendation to
Dr. Aliyu Tilde for the effort made to raise awareness to the public and his
ceaseless search for information to relay to the public. Also Mal. Lawan
Abubakar the Imam of the Triumph Juma’at mosque for his visit to the victims.
Finally,
I hope the Senate Panel set to investigate the killing will do their job with
justice, and the NHRC report will thoroughly be considered to ensure that
justice is done to the victims and the murderers punished.
Sulieman
Imran Katsina, Mamman Abdullahi Katsina, Ashiru Musa Katsina, Nura Abdullahi
Katsina, Ahmad Musa Zamfara, Buhari Ibrahim Kano and many others who were
killed, be received in a perfect peace. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment