Thursday 24 November 2016

[AUDIO] Radio France: Uche Mefor's response to the recent Amnesty report on the killing of 150 Biafrans.




Listen here :
A leading rights group has accused Nigerian security forces of killing at least 150 Biafran protesters. In a report released on Thursday, Amnesty International said the military fired live ammunition to disperse protesters between August 2015 and August this year. Biafran separatist groups want independence for the
Southeast of Nigeria - the first republic of Biafra was declared by a Nigerian military officer before the start of a three-year civil war. RFI's Daniel Finnan spoke to Uche Mefor, deputy leader, Indigenous People of Biafra…

The suppression and persecution of Biafrans home and abroad by the Nigerian government.

By Osita Ebiem



At the end of the Biafran War many experts came to the conclusion that genocide had been committed against the Igbo by the Nigerian government. In an effort to suppress the scandal, the Nigerian government with some help from Great Britain worked frantically to cover up the news about the atrocities. For almost fifty years that effort paid off. The crime of Biafran Genocide was carefully hidden away from the public.

However, today 2016 the agitation for the restoration of the defunct Biafran state is in the news again. This is coming nearly half a century after the country’s demise in 1970. After suffering a pogrom in which more than 100,000 of their people were killed by Nigerian civilians and various security forces of the Nigerian government, Igbo people with other southeasterners who also were affected in the killings declared an independent Biafran state in mid-1967. Immediately following the secession the Nigerian state levied a genocidal war of aggression that lasted two and half years against Biafra. With the help of Great Britain, USSR (Russia) and Islamic Arab states; all those countries supplied arms to Nigeria and the war resulted in the genocide of Igbo people.

The war was prosecuted with the declared intention of wiping out the Igbo from the face of the Earth. By the time the war was over a quarter of Igbo population, that is 3 million of them were further exterminated. About 2 million of the casualties died from starvation resulting from the Nigerian government official policy of “hunger as a legitimate weapon of war.” Almost fifty years after that horrific genocide which tends to have been largely forgotten by much of the world community, a new generation of Igbo people who are majorly Animists and Christians are reviving the call to free themselves and territory from the largely Islamic state of Nigeria.

A close look at most of the people who are championing the new struggle to separate Biafra from Nigeria reveals that they either did not witness the Biafran War or they were mere children during the war. For this reason some people have asked the question; why are people in this age bracket bent on defiantly reviving such a horrific episode and experience in their history half a century on. Some people have argued that it has something to do with the fact that the Nigerian government barned the teaching of history in Nigerian schools soon after the Biafran War. People were prohibited from mentioning the name, “Biafra” for many decades afterwards. The government wanted to hide the genocide permanently from public consciousness. As a result, subsequent generations which did not witness the war are unable to appreciate fully the devastating impacts of the war on their parents’ generation. But since the years following the war even the generations of Igbo people who did not witness it are being punished and marginalized by the Nigerian state. And this is part of what is fueling the independence protests.

Remembering how horrible the war was, people like the current Muslim President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari who incidentally fought on the Nigerian side to defeat Biafra have asked the new agitators for a revived independent state of Biafra to forget it. Of course he did not find it necessary to express any remorse about the Igbo Genocide which he helped to orchestrate. He instead believes that the people will just forget just because he asked them to forget the heinous crime that was committed against them. Insensitively, the president went on to argue that the agitators are doing this because they did not experience or witness the war. This has made many observers to interpret Buhari’s highhanded response by killing the peaceful nonviolent agitators as his way of trying to teach the “inexperienced” agitators a lesson. In the past one and half years Buhari has rolled out, on many occasions, the full strength of his country’s military force to violently suppress the peaceful nonviolent Biafran independence movement.

The human rights organization; Amnesty International reports that since the advent of Buhari administration in 2015 till now – the tail end of 2016, Nigerian government has killed more than 300 Biafrans and wounded many more while they held peaceful protests for Biafra’s independence. Amnesty International says that many of those pro-Biafra protesters were shot and killed in their sleep and others while they gathered in churches to pray. Many of the protesters were shot and killed from behind while they tried to escape.

The fact is that the peaceful protests for the separation of Igbo territory (Biafra) from Nigeria has been going on since the year 2000. The group known as Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had spearheaded these protests. Various Nigerian administrations before the advent of the present one in 2015 had used mostly the incarceration of the leaders of the movement in trying to deal with and suppress it. MASSOB’s former leader Ralph Uwazurike suffered many jail times in Nigerian prisons. Sometimes the MASSOB leader was detained for many years at a time. Apart from many of the agitators who are being killed extra-judicially by government forces there are some notable individuals who are being held in various Nigerian prisons just because they are agitating for Biafra’s independence. Some were snatched off the streets into prisons for merely wearing vests with Biafran insignia or just being in possession of Biafran flags. There are such people like Benjamin Onwuka the leader of Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM,) Chidiebere Onwudiwe whose home was invaded by Nigerian security agents in the middle of the night. He was taken away from his house at 2 AM and has not been heard from again since the last one year. Then there is Nnamudi Kanu who runs an online radio called Radio Biafra London (RBL.) These individuals except for Onwudiwe whose fate is yet to be known, can be described as almost lucky because Buhari’s government has not yet executed them and their cases have been celebrated because of the relatively wide media publicity they have attracted.
But there are many unsung pro-Biafra agitator-victims who are not as lucky. They are currently suffering various kinds of persecutions in many detention centers around the world. Some of these less known victims are being prosecuted in different courts of law in many places around the world simply because they demonstrated publicly for the independence of Biafra. These people are being deprived of their freedom or are being subjected to other forms of hardships and inhumane treatments because of their involvement in Biafran freedom activism.

Over the years many critics have complained that the Nigerian government has used some unorthodox diplomatic manipulations to influence how some foreign government agencies carry out their duties in its effort to suppress Biafra’s independence and hide the Biafran Genocide. Since the time of Biafra War till now, Nigeria has deployed its diplomatic tentacles across the world to make sure that those who agitate for Biafra anywhere are suppressed. We will cite two little known examples of those who are going through persecutions in so-called civilized societies like European countries of Norway and England.

Lotachukwu Okorie used to serve as MASSOB’s District Officer in southeast Nigeria before he emigrated to Norway, fleeing from persecution by Nigerian government authorities. On getting to Norway, a civilized society, he believed that his problems were over and his human rights would be protected. Unfortunately, he discovered that they had only just begun. In what looked like a remotely influenced operation the Norwegian government detained Okorie and charged him with illegal immigration crime. He was then detained for one year and six months without any conclusive decision on his case. According to Norwegian laws he overstayed in jail the period he was legally supposed to. Just before he was arrested, Okorie was so frustrated by the various dehumanizing treatments he was receiving from Norwegian security agents that he was driven to attempt suicide with a kitchen knife.

Another case which is fast becoming a source of embarrassment to the British government is that of Yahgozie Immanu-el victim of political persecution by British authorities that apparently are trying hard to please Nigerian government which it is believed are tele-guiding and influencing the current ordeals of Yahgozie. It appears that the British government is willing to compromise their country’s very reputable centuries-old national respect for the fundamental human and civil rights of all people simply to please the Nigerian government. Yahgozie is an independent journalist as well as a pro-Biafra activist who is based in London. He got arrested by the British police while he covered the recent official visit to Britain by the Nigerian President Buhari. He was subsequently taken to court on frivolous and trumped up charges that he was trying to attack President Buhari’s motorcade. Some eyewitnesses of the incident are still unable to understand how the actions of someone who only had a microphone and was trying to cover the unfolding events could have been interpreted as an intention to attack President Buhari. Yahgozie’s case comes up again in the City of London Magistrates Court later in this month of November. Many people think that the case is actually turning into an embarrassment to the human rights image of the British government.











Osita Ebiem is our special correspondent on African Continent. He is a rights activist based in New York City. He writes about and calls attention to the Biafran genocide. From time to time he writes critical analysis of issues in Africa south of the Sahara. Osita is the author of “Nigeria, Biafra and Boko Haram: Ending the Genocides through Multistate Solution” and the forthcoming “Biafra Genocide: The Crime and Pending Justice.”

Amnesty international accuses Nigeria of killing at least 150 Biafra separatists



LAGOS (Reuters) - Amnesty International accused Nigerian security forces on Thursday of killing at least 150 peaceful advocates of Biafra's secession from Africa's most populous nation, but the military and police dismissed the allegations.

An army spokesman said Amnesty's statement, the latest in a series of allegations of impropriety levelled against Nigeria's military in the last year, aimed to tarnish the security forces' reputation. The police said they did not attack people holding demonstrations.

Amnesty said the military fired live ammunition, with little or no warning, to disperse members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group between August 2015 and August 2016.

Its 60-page report based on interviews with 193 people, 87 videos and 122 photographs from that period also said troops and the police used "arbitrary, abusive and excessive force to disrupt gatherings".

Secessionist feeling has simmered in the southeast since the Biafra separatist rebellion tipped the west African country into a 1967-1970 civil war that killed an estimated 1 million people.

It flared up again last year after IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu was detained on charges of criminal conspiracy and belonging to an illegal society. That prompted supporters of Kanu to hold protests that Amnesty said were dispersed with live ammunition.

Army spokesman Sani Usman said Biafra separatists had behaved violently, killing five policeman at a protest in May and attacking both military and police vehicles.

"The military and other security agencies exercised maximum restraints despite the flurry of provocative and unjustifiable violence," said Usman.
Nigeria Police Force spokesman Don Awunah said officers "always abide by the law" and adhere to best practices. "We don't attack people who are demonstrating, which every Nigerian has a right to do," he said.

Witnesses told Amnesty that some protesters had thrown stones, burned tyres and, in one incident, shot at the police but added that "these acts of violence did not justify the level of force used against the whole assembly".

"This reckless and trigger-happy approach to crowd control has caused at least 150 deaths," said Makmid Kamara, interim director of Amnesty International Nigeria, who called on authorities to launch an investigation into the matter.
He said the government's deployment of troops at the events seemed "in large part to blame for this excessive bloodshed".

The report is the latest in a string of accusations levelled at the army by Amnesty. Last year it said more than 8,000 people died in detention during a crackdown on Boko Haram.

It also said soldiers killed hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims in the northern city of Zaria in December 2015. A judicial inquiry in August concluded that 347 people were killed and buried in mass graves after those clashes.

(Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

VIDEO: Uche Mefor of Radio Biafra receives an award (Doctor) in Germany from IPOB



Maazi Uche Okafor Mefor of Radio Biafra London receives an award at a Biafran concert in Germany. The award was honorary doctorate award to signify his commitment to Biafran struggle through unrelenting live broadcasts. The award was given by IPOB  in Germany.

Uche Mefor who did not turn down the award, reiterated that "I am not a doctor" and "on this platform, we say it as it is". He received the award alongside another IPOB member.


Fani-Kayode: Nnamdi Kanu is ready to sacrifice everything

Former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has expressed profound opinion of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, stating that contrary to all expectations, he is the most courageous, powerful and credible Igbo leader in Nigeria today.

Recounting his encounter with Kanu in the cell during his 29-day detention, Fani- Kayode said that Kanu “is not just a combination of Owelle Nnamdi Azikwe and Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu: he is a combination of Azikwe, Ojukwu and Major Kaduna Nzeogwu all rolled into one and no government can repress him.”

Fani-Kayode, who declined an interview with Sunday Telegraph, but made available the second part of his paper titled “The Spirit and Soul of Nnamdi Kanu,” said of his meeting with the ‘freedom fighter, Kanu’. “I was amazed at his depth of knowledge, his immense courage and his deep convictions.”

Justifying his position, the former Minister, who was recently granted bail in a case of money laundering said: “I have associated with, met and worked with many men of influence and power since I joined politics 30 years ago but this one was different.
This was a man that had what I would describe as a Mahatma Ghandi-like quality. That is to say he is one that is prepared to sacrifice everything and anything for his beliefs, his people and his cause.”

He said that during the encounter, they discussed their respective views about Nigeria: “Our collective history, the suffering and marginalisation of our respective people, the reptilian and violent nature of the Nigerian state, the present dispensation and the way forward.

“Nnamdi and I, rather like Che Guevera and Fidel Castro at the beginning of the Cuban revolution, connected immediately and he won my trust, respect and admiration. If there is anyone that can truly build the much needed bridge between the South-West, the South-South and the South- East it is Nnamdi Kanu,” Fani-Kayode said.

Apparently aware that he stirred the hornet’s nest by that description of Kanu, currently in detention over allegations of treason, Fani-Kayode said: “I believe that we must give honour to whom it is due.

Those that are upset at the fact that I spoke highly of the IPOB leader are misguided and, worst still, they lack vision, foresight and insight.

“They not only lack the ability to perceive but they also lack the gift of discernment. Worse of all they are suffering from good old fashioned envy and they have been afflicted with the worst form of ignorance,” He said most of those vilifying him for his comments have never met the man Kanu, let alone know him. “I sat next to him for three solid hours in the most challenging and difficult circumstances.

Like the great William Wallace of Scotland, I have no doubt that if it were necessary he would go as far as to sacrifice his very life in the struggle for freedom and independence for his Igbo people from the Nigerian state and from our internal colonial masters and for the establishment of his beloved Biafra.

“Very few Nigerian leaders have that level of selflessness and commitment and I admire it. I looked deeply into his eyes as we spoke and I touched and weighed his soul. I can tell you, without any fear of contradiction, that he is a profoundly good man who loves his Igbo people  deeply.

He is also well-educated and widely-read and he is a formidable intellectual. “We may not have agreed on everything, but I can tell you this much: he feels and shares the pain of the Igbo and he yearns for their liberation and emancipation from I am increasingly hostile and oppressive Nigeria,” the former Aviation Minister said.
Fani-Kayode added that Kanu is not a politician in the true sense of the word but “rather a freedom fighter and a charismatic leader who has managed to inspire millions of Igbo youth all over the world and that is a good thing.”
He added: “Kanu is a man of great faith and conviction and his rise to prominence is not ordinary but instead prophetic, and he cannot be destroyed or silenced by any government or man born of woman because the Lord is using him.
He is using him to say and do the things that many believe but that are too scared to say or do. Other leaders have had their time in the past and now this is his. He is paying a very heavy price right now for what God will use him for in the future.”

Thursday 17 November 2016

Nnamdi Kanu's court case adjourned to December 1, 2016


For how will the contraption called Nigeria continue postponing this court case?  Fellow Biafrans always be grateful no matter anything ,for Almighty God has given someone who has dedicated his life to achieve the restoration of Biafra .

Today, you can see Nnamdi Kanu and other IPOB officers standing strong in Abuja after a heated debate in the court. Kudos to all Biafrans who travelled from all corners of the earth to be present in today's court hearing. We encourage Biafrans to always be present any time our leader; Nnamdi Kanu has these court cases.

The presence of Biafrans always boast our leader's spirit .

The court case has been adjourned until 1st December 2016. We want all Biafrans turn up in mass in the next hearing which is just by the corner.


Many have travelled a long way from Lagos to Abuja for the hearing today and we are very proud of hard-core Biafrans.

Please remain tuned in to this news blog for more information on Biafra restoration. Drop your comments and share this post.



 


Monday 14 November 2016

Trump is for Biafra versus Trump is not my president



There is this notion by many of us in the Biafra struggle that the president elect; Donald J. Trump will support the cause for Biafra restoration. Well from all indications there's no evidence to suggest that Trump will help. What we can of course be argued is that Trump might be a better president than Hillary Clinton who is well known for her notorious support for the Northern Fulani Islamic agenda. Hillary received a lot of support from Buhari who doubles as the chief sponsor of Boko Haram and president of Northern Nigeria. Despite all that we know of the political situation in Biafra land and in the United States, Biafrans should not allow themselves to be used as a tool in the hands of politicians. This is because it is possible that Trump disappoints us tomorrow.

TRUMP IS NOT MY PRESIDENT!
Since results from the recent US election was announced, there has been hundreds of people protesting in the streets of America. A lot of them are not happy with the American democracy which elected Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Many slogans used were #Racist #NotMyPresident e.t.c. while the politically biased media e.g CNN continues to give it wider coverage.

It is a shame that some Americans and media house can bring themselves this low.


Wave Biafra Flag
Powered by Blogger.

 

© 2014 Biafra Restoration Movement Commentary . All rights resevered. Designed by Nwa Chineke