THE statement issued by the Directorate of State Services (DSS) on Saturday, April 9, 2016 accusing the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) of murdering five men who, according to the Service, belonged to the Hausa-Fulani ethnic stock, came as a rude shock. The bodies were discovered in shallow graves in the Umuanyi forest, Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State. The DSS in the statement said the five “Hausa-Fulani” men were among 50 other unidentified persons who were found buried in shallow graves in the forest.
The statement did not indicate the forensic evidence that led it to isolate the five men as members of a specific ethnic group, neither did it disclose the ethnic identities of the other dozens of victims. It is dangerous to jump to conclusion the way the Service did without credible evidence that the process of identification was scientifically and professionally carried out by qualified forensic pathologists. The danger of such impulsive profiling and selective dissemination of the ethnic identities of five out of more than fifty victims is that it could spark off ethnic conflicts that may be difficult to control. It also gives the impression that the other victims do not matter.
The DSS has also not provided enough evidence that the IPOB members were behind the killings. Before going public with such a grave allegation, there must be cast-iron evidence linking any group with such a heinous crime in order to convince the public of their culpability. After doing so, the culprits must subsequently be prosecuted. We call on the Federal Government to wade into the discovery of these and other mass graves, ascertain those behind the dastardly acts and bring them to justice. But the process must be carried out professionally and in accordance to due process to fish out the killers, no matter who they are. Only a thorough and professionally-conducted investigation will reveal the real criminals and their evil intentions, and this will guide us to prevent such ugly incidents from happening again.
The DSS and other security agencies must also wake up to the series of attacks by armed militias who are glibly referred to as “Fulani herdsmen”. The Service is yet to inform Nigerians who these people really are, what their true mission is and plans being made to stop them from killing, maiming and displacing innocent Nigerians from their communities. These attacks have been going on for years, and cries for these agents of darkness to be stopped in their tracks has so far fallen on deaf ears. Government and its organs must act with discretion and refrain from favouritism and acts that could portray them as one-sided or set Nigerians against one another.
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