Saturday 18 January 2014

Northern elders set to drag Ihejirika, 6 others to ICC

Northern elders set to drag Ihejirika, 6 others to ICC

Barely 24 hours after his sack by President Goodluck Jonathan, Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has disclosed its resolve to drag the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika to International Criminal Court of Justice (ICC) in the Hague.

The forum said the former Army Chief and six others are to be charged for extra-judicial killings by soldiers in Bama and strangulation of civilians in Giwa Barrack, with the use of underground detention centre.
The Northern Elders Forum disclosed its plan in a statement issued and made available to the press in Kaduna yesterday.

According to the statement signed by the forum’s spokesman, Professor Ango Abdullahi, NEF has received report of extra-judicial killings by soldiers in Bama and other parts of Borno State.
“It would be recalled thatthe Northern Elders Forum had set up the two committees of legal and security experts to investigate the details of the gruesome use of force against unarmed civilians in Bama and other parts of Borno State and forward appropriate recommendations.

“At our meeting in Kaduna on the 15th January, 2014, we received the reports of the  two committees on Security and Legal Matters, regarding extra-judicial killings by soldiers in Bama and the act of strangulating civilians in Giwa Barracks using an underground detention centre, while depositing the corps in hospital.
“The forum has, therefore, resolved to harmonise the reports of the two committees, preparatory to filing a case of extra-judicial killings by the Nigerian Army under the then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubuike Ihejirika and six others.

“The reports will be harmonised at our emergency meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, 22nd January 2014 for further action”, the statement stated.

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