•The 30 freed Obigbo Army abductees taken this morning, 16th Jan 2021 after they were freed late evening of yesterday, 15th Jan 2021 from Army dungeons in Abuja and Niger State
ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – Human rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety), has said that 30 more residents of Obigbo (Oyigbo), Rivers State allegedly abducted by the Nigerian Army were on Friday released in Abuja.
The victims were arrested in the wake of the EndSARS protests that rocked Nigeria in October 2020.
According to Intersociety the 30 Obigbo residents were granted bail by a magistrate, Aminu Mohammed Abdullahi, in Abuja on Thursday.
Sundiata Post recalls that the first batch of 29 Obigbo residents detained in Abuja and some parts of the north were granted bail shortly before Christmas 2020.
The full statement by Intersociety reads:
The leadership of Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law is gladly announcing the release on Court bail of 30 more victims of Obigbo Army massacre and abductions. Their bail was granted by Magistrate Aminu Mohammed Abdullahi of the Grade II Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. The Court bail, granted on Thursday, 14th Jan 2021 saw the victims freed or regained their freedom before dawn on Friday, 15th Jan 2021. The 30 victims, mainly residents of Obigbo and environs in Rivers State and interstate travelers-with different types of lawful occupation; were released from three secret dungeons; namely: Nigerian Army’s Mogadishu Barracks, Abuja, Nigerian Army Training Center in Suleja, Niger State and SSS (DSS) dungeon located at Mararaba in Abuja.
Pope Francis Or Angel Gabriel Cannot Save Wike Over Obigbo Massacre
Intersociety also makes bold to say that not even Pope Francis or Angel Gabriel can save Gov Nyesom Wike from his involvement in Obigbo Army massacre, abductions and other atrocity crimes. The Governor will soon be slapped with more damning statistics on the referenced ‘industrial scale’ rights abuses and violations perpetrated under his nose and seal at Obigbo and environs and is already being blacklisted internationally. We have observed efforts in futility by the Gov since the aftermath of the massacre, abductions, property crimes and others. They include what looks like “gubernatorial show of force”, recalcitrance and “image laundering”; to the extent that ‘the good’, ‘the bad’ and ‘the ugly’ are now being invited to ‘commission projects’.
Since the aftermath of the massacre, too, Port Harcourt Government House had become a pilgrimage arena where individuals and groups ancestrally linked to the victims are ‘invited’ to sing victory songs for the Gov for ‘a job well done’ in aiding the massacre and abduction of his own people; same defenseless citizens he got elected and sworn to protect at all times and beyond the confines of personal interest and primordialism. These explain why we hold that ‘not even Pope Francis or Angel Gabriel can save him’. In the Oracular Igbo Society, this is a clear act of taboo and abomination with commensurable sanctions
Names Of The 30 Freed Abductees
Names of the 30 freed abductees are Citizens Okoli Kanayo, Boniface Okafor, Mbadiwe Godwin, Sima Man, Joseph Nwaaba, Eze Imo, Gozie Oliver, Nwamadi Monday, Izunne Gilbert, Nwabueze Chinyeze, Favour Uchenna, Ego Samuel, Ibenwolu Faith, Abel Daniel, Young Winner, Pepper White, Freedom (Kekeboy), Obinna Ekechukwu, Adonai Uwakwe, Celestine Uwakwe, Arinze (Water), One Man MOPOL, Onyema Amaechi, Chukwunonso Andrew, Chikwado Hosanna, Ndubuisi (Officer), Uzoma Ojiako, Kosisochukwu Ojiako, Miracle Ojiako and Goodness Nwagbaraukwu. Also Citizen Linus Uroko, a Jewish religionist, who missed being granted bail on 24th Dec 2020 and got his release secured during the release of his 29 colleagues on 30th Dec 2020, on account of his religious belief; was granted unconditional Court bail and freed on 13th Jan 2021.
112 Abductees Now Freed, 96 Remained In Abuja & 200 Others Unaccounted For
With this cheering news, it now brings the total number of abducted Obigbo residents, located and freed since 30th of Dec 2020 to 112, out of which 52 were located in four different dungeons manned by the Army in Jebba, Kontangora, Zungeru and Bida, all in Niger State and freed through Court bails on 3rd and 10th Dec 2020; 29 were freed on 30th Dec 2020 after a Court bail granted on 24th Dec 2020; one was freed on 13th Jan 2021; and 30 others on 15th Jan 2021, a day after they were granted bail on 14th Jan 2021. As it stands, not less than 96 more defenseless Obigbo residents are still being held incommunicado since late Oct 2020 in different Army dungeons in Abuja and the whereabouts of not less than 200 others including Citizens Chigbo Elvis Ngozi, Obioma Okoroafor, Ozoemena Nwokorie, Mbeta Uchenna and Chiadikobi Ndubuisi are only known to the Nigerian Army and Gov Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. It is also feared that scores of them have been tortured to death or executed in Army captivity. At least, three of the abducted citizens (Okey Anyanwu, Kingsley Iwuagwu and Chijioke) were killed in Army custody in Niger State.
Barr Okoroafor & Ors Deserve Commendation
In all, commendation must go to Barr Richie Okoroafor, an International Human Rights Lawyer and Igbo-British Citizen. Without his efforts, the clandestine plans of the heavily Northern Muslim controlled Nigerian Army would have been actualized. Deserving commendation too is the leadership of Indigenous People of Biafra. Barr Okoroafor had led us in the know of the fact that “without the leadership of IPOB, which responded swiftly to distress calls at the beginning and even till date, he could not have achieved much. This is more so when the matter is cloaked in the layers of ‘Prosecutorial Vindictiveness by the Government of Nigeria”.
The Army Intended To Execute All The 400 Abductees Or More In Captivity
It therefore requires no rocket science to establish that the Nigerian Army intended or planned secret abduction and execution in captivity of the abducted 400 Obigbo residents or more-which was why it has not uttered a word since then including releasing a statement taking responsibility for their abduction, disclosing their whereabouts, stating why they were abducted and offenses warranting their abduction; informing their families or relatives of their whereabouts and conditions in detention; and handing them over to Civil Authorities within periods prescribed by the Constitution and others laws of Nigeria for their trial or release on administrative bail pending trial or having them investigatively discharged and acquitted for want of investigative and prosecutorial evidence.
Signed:
For: Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair; Barr Chinwe Umeche, Head of Democracy & Good Governance; Barr Obianuju Igboeli, Head of Civil Liberties & Rule of Law and Comrade Samuel Kamanyoku, Head of Field Data Collection & Documentation
