There was public outrage on Tuesday
over the massacre of no fewer than 185 people during a clash on
Saturday between the militant Islamic sect, Boko Haram and the
Multinational Joint Task Force in Baga, Borno State.
The
condemnation came from the National Assembly, the Northern Elders
Forum, the Action Congress of Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive
Change and Spain.
While members of the Senate decided after
hearing a motion on the clash to probe the killings, lawmakers in
the House called for a judicial commission of inquiry.
In
Kaduna, the Northern Elders Forum, after its meeting with the Arewa
Consultative Forum, feared that the massacre could threaten the planned
amnesty for Boko Haram members.
Immediately after hearing a
motion by Maina Lawan, President of the Senate, David Mark, directed
the Committees on Defence, Police and National Security and Intelligence
to probe the allegations that most of the victims were civilians. The
committees are to report back in two weeks.
Mark did not allow the motion to be debated on the grounds of security implications and the sensitive nature of the matter.
He
said, “There are standard rules of engagement and that do not include
mass and extrajudicial killings. The level of death is just too high
and we cannot accept that.”
Maina had in his motion, said that Baga which is his hometown, was in ruins following the onslaught.
He
said, “My hometown of Baga is today in ruins, with 180 to 200 human
lives lost and numerous others unaccounted for. About 2000 homes, 62
cars and 284 motorcycles and tons and tons of foodstuff were also
destroyed.
“At this stage, I do not want to immerse myself in the
blame game of whether it is the multinational task force or not. The
task force or the insurgents carried out the atrocities that bear the
hallmark of the Odi massacre.
“Whoever did it, that level of
atrocity is condemnable and is hereby condemned. I call for a full scale
investigation to unearth the truth as this has become a recurring
decimal in all such past instances in Borno State.”
Lawan told
journalists after plenary that there was no contesting the fact that the
insurgents attacked members of the task force.
“It is true
that the insurgents provoked the event. One soldier was shot, but the
military went back and came back reinforced and Baga was levelled,” the
lawmaker said.
He said the killing of innocent people over the action of a few miscreants was unfair.
In
the House, members passed a resolution asking President Goodluck
Jonathan to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the clash.
A
lawmaker from Borno State, Mr. Mohammed Mungono, told the House that
about 195 civilians and one soldier were killed in the incident.
He
informed his colleagues that trouble started when Boko Haram
members attacked the soldiers and then infiltrated civilian
population.
According to him, in an attempt to retaliate, the
soldiers fired in whatever direction the attackers ran to, killing
non-sect members in the process.
He noted that while the soldiers
were in Borno State to provide security, the aim could be defeated if
they were “not professional” in the manner they conducted their
operations.
The lawmakers then observed a minute’s silence in
honour of the dead and adopted the prayers of Mungono, calling for a
judicial commission to investigate the killings.
But, there was a
mild drama when another prayer asking the House to send a delegation to
commiserate with the families of the victims, elicited murmurs of
rejection from members.
Speaker Aminu Tambuwal had suggested that the Deputy House Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, would lead the delegation.
In
Kaduna, the Northern Elders Forum which like the House members called
for a commission of inquiry instead of probe as promised by President
Goodluck Jonathan, said the killings were highly uncalled for.
Its spokesman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said the latest onslaught cast doubt on the planned amnesty for members of Boko Haram.
According to him, an allegation that a soldier was killed could not have warranted the Army to wipe out an entire community.
He
said,“We advised against it much earlier than now. The fact that the
President is saying there should be a probe means he is not saying
more than he had said before.There have been so many people who
were mercilessly killed in their sleep and their houses ransacked in
the name of searching for Boko Haram members.
“This certainly is
not the way an operation like this should be conducted. That is why we
believe the President need not order a probe. We need a judicial
commission of inquiry to unravel what has happened in Baga. The
commission of inquiry should have expanded terms of reference for people
to come before it to raise issues that have been happening in Borno and
Yobe states.”
Abdullahi said the National Executive Committee of the ACF and NEF to deliberate on the state of the nation.
He
said, “We elders of the North came to ACF to exchange ideas and views
on the state of the nation generally and the state of the north in
particular. Most of these soldiers that are posted to these areas
(Yobe and Borno states) are not only raw as soldiers, but they are
coming from totally different backgrounds. ACF Publicity Secretary,
Anthony Sani, said the forum would meet today (Wednesday) over the
Baga killings.
The Commander of the MNJTF, Brig.- Gen. Austin
Edokpaye, has however claimed that only six civilians were killed and
not the 185 widely reported by the media on Monday.
Edokpaye,
in a three-paragraph statement he sent to journalists in Maiduguri,
also said that 30 thatch houses were burnt as against 2,000 which Baga
residents told Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, when he visited
the community.
Edokpaye said the troops killed 30 Boko Haram
gunmen and arrested five others. According to him, a soldier died and
five others sustained injuries.
He said “Contrary to media
speculation that hundreds of houses were burnt, instead, it was the
explosion from Boko Haram terrorists’rocket propelled grenade bombs,
anti -aircraft guns and sophisticated IED materials that triggered fire
to about 30 thatch houses in the predominantly fishing community.”
He
also said that three rocket propelled grenade launchers, two rocket
propelled grenade bombs; four AK 47 rifles, 435 assorted ammunitions,
seven quantities of IED material, and three Toyota Land Cruisers, were
recovered from the sect members.
The Borno State Government said on Tuesday that ‘over 100 people’ were killed.
In
Lagos, the ACN criticised the Federal Government’s handling of the
killings, calling it slow and disrespectful to the sanctity of human
lives
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the security agencies must respect
the relevant rules of engagement in their onslaught against the sect.
This, it added, was necessary in order to spare the lives and property of innocent civilians.
The
party said it hoped that the probe ordered into the tragedy by
President Goodluck Jonathan would not be another window dressing.
Also, the CPC said it was outraged by what it called the wanton destruction of lives and property in Baga.
Its
National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, noted in a statement
that the attendant ecological disruption and huge humanitarian calamity
had attracted so much attention.
But Spain condemned the clash and expressed worry about weapons used by the group to fight soldiers.
A
statement made available by its Embassy in Abuja, reads, “Spain
expresses its serious concern on the use on this occasion of heavy
artillery which indicates a qualitative increase in the escalation of
tension on the part of the insurgents causing at the time more damage
and pain among the population.
“Spain expresses its solidarity
and support to the victims and their families and hopes that those
responsible for these terrorist attacks are brought to justice according
to the law.
“In the same vein Spain supports the Nigerian
government in its flight against the terrorist challenge and maintains
its commitment to the flight against any form of terrorism.”
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has said that it will discuss the Baga killings on Thursday and Friday.
The killings, it said, would be among activities and events its board would review.
The
two-day meeting will be attended by the 12 members of the board which
has the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof. Bem Angwe, as
secretary.
Confirming the meeting , the NHRC Board Chairman,
Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, said, “ It is true we are meeting on Thursday and
Friday. We will come up with a position on that day”.