7th May, 2016
Amnesty International has called on the Buhari Government to take adequate steps towards the protection of lives and property in communities susceptible to attacks and clashes between nomadic herdsmen and farming communities.
The human rights group called on the Federal Government to investigate this serial bloodletting between herdsmen and agricultural communities, make adequate provision for the protection of life and property in the areas at risk, and bring those responsible to justice through fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.
The deadly attack on Nimbo and Ukpabi communities in Enugu state on 25 April, which killed at least 12 people and injured several others displays a callous disregard for human life, the rights group said in a statement on Friday.
“This attack highlights the urgent need for the government of Nigeria to take immediate steps to protect the lives and property of people threatened by the armed clashes between nomadic herdsmen and farming communities.”
On Monday, 25 April, around 7am, dozens of armed men attacked Nimbo and Ukpabi communities in Enugu state. Armed with guns, bows, arrows, and machetes, they killed at least a dozen and injured at least 10 others, according to eye witnesses and a staff of the hospital which received the dead. Villagers told Amnesty International that the attackers came, approximately 30 minutes after policemen drafted to protect the communities left.
One woman in the community told Amnesty International, “I ran away to the neighbouring community. I later heard the following day that my brothers have been killed. I came to Nsukka to meet them still alive in the hospital. They were seriously injured. One of them will have his hands amputated. I don’t even know if he will survive.”
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Nsukka Area Command, told Amnesty International that the policemen deployed to the area were covering about five communities, hence the need for them to move around. He stressed that his men did not leave the area and responded as soon as they got a call from the community. He also noted that police are working jointly with the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps to protect the area.
Witnesses said there was palpable tension in the community days preceding the attack because the community had received early warnings of the impending attack, including through text messages to some community members. These messages were passed on to the local and state government officials and the police.
The Enugu state government spokesman told Amnesty International that the state government held a security meeting (in response to the warnings) on Sunday night. At this meeting, security forces assured the government of their readiness to protect the community.
The facts of this case suggest that the Federal Government of Nigeria may have failed in its obligations to take steps to protect the lives and property of the residents of Nimbo and Ukpabi communities. Despite receiving early warnings of the attack, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agents present in the area appear not to have provided sufficient protection for the threatened communities, and this may have contributed to the casualties.
“The Government of Nigeria must institute an inquiry into the operational decisions and to ensure that if mistakes were made these are not repeated in the future.”
In the last few months, scores of people have been killed in Benue, Nassarawa, Adamawa and Delta states as a result of clashes between nomadic herdsmen and the host communities, who often accused the former of destroying their farmlands.
Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria provides for the right to life. The UN Human Rights Committee, in interpreting the right to life as provided by article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), emphasised the obligation of States to take adequate measures to prevent and punish deprivation of life by criminal acts. Furthermore, the African Commission emphasised that “[a] State can be held responsible for killings by non-State actors if … it fails to exercise due diligence to prevent such killings or to ensure proper investigation and accountability”. Nigeria is a state party to both the ICCPR and African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
Amnesty International said it welcomed the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to the security forces, to investigate the attacks and bring perpetrators to justice.
“However, we urge that there should be no recourse to the death penalty in this regard. Amnesty International calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria to take urgent legal steps to ensure the protection of lives and property in other communities which might be susceptible to these kind of attacks, in order to forestall a repeat of the events which occurred in Nimbo and Ukpabi communities in Enugu state”.