Nigeria: Soldiers Massacre Civilians in Revenge Attack in Benue State

(New York, October 25, 2001) Human Rights Watch today condemned the
massacre of more than 100 civilians by Nigerian soldiers in several
villages in Benue State, apparently carried out as revenge for the
killing of 19 soldiers earlier this month.

Human Rights Watch urged President Olusegun Obasanjo to set up an
independent investigation into the military operation in Benue since
October 22 and to bring to
justice those found responsible.

“The security forces have a duty to protect, not to attack, the
population,” said Peter
Takirambudde, Executive Director of the Africa Division of Human Rights
Watch. “The murder of the 19 soldiers should
certainly be condemned, but their deaths do not justify
the slaughter of civilians by the Nigerian army.”

Militia of the Tiv ethnic group are believed to have been responsible
for the abduction and murder of 19 soldiers, whose mutilated bodies were
found in the village of Zaki-Biam on October 12. According to official
statements, the soldiers had been deployed to the area to restore law
and order following clashes between the Tiv and Jukun
ethnic groups. Benue and neighboring Taraba states, in central Nigeria,
have been the scene of longstanding disputes between these two groups,
which erupted again in recent weeks.

According to information received from local sources, including Nigerian
human rights groups, the military operation began on Monday, October 22,
when soldiers from the 23rd armored brigade of the 3rd armored division
of the Nigerian army rounded up residents in Gbeji village for a
“meeting,” made them sit on the ground, separated the men from the
others, and then opened fire upon the men indiscriminately. Witnesses
reported that some of the victims’ bodies were then set ablaze. Further
killings took place as soldiers invaded the villages of Vasae, Anyiin
Iorja, Ugba, Sankera and Zaki-Biam, all located in the two local
government areas of Logo and Zaki-Biam. In the following two days, there
was widespread destruction of property and buildings in these villages,
after terrified residents had abandoned their homes.

While the total number of victims has not yet been established,
survivors and eyewitnesses have reported that at least 100 and possibly
more than 200 people died at the hands of the soldiers. Thousands of
people have been displaced or have fled into the bush for safety.

The situation in the area remains extremely tense. There is still a
heavy military presence and the troops who carried out the operation
have reportedly not been withdrawn. A dusk to dawn curfew has been
imposed. On October 24 and 25 further violence broke out, including
around the university in the state capital Makurdi, where students and
others staged protests at the army’s actions. Vehicles and tires were
set ablaze. There were reports of further deaths and injuries.

The killing of the 19 soldiers was energetically condemned by the
Nigerian federal government. At their state funeral on October 22,
President Olusegun Obasanjo publicly urged the security forces to spare
no effort in tracking down those responsible.

The situation in Benue was reminiscent of a sequence of events in the
town of Odi, in Bayelsa state in southern Nigeria, in November 1999,
when soldiers seeking to avenge the murder of 12 policemen by local
armed groups razed the entire town and killed scores of civilians.

“Tragically, the lessons of Odi have not been learned,” said
Takirambudde. “After the discovery of the soldiers’ bodies, the Nigerian
authorities could easily have predicted that anger in the military would
lead to revenge. Everyone was talking about the likelihood of
retaliation, yet no steps appear to have been taken to prevent the
military from retaliating.”

No member of the armed forces is known to have been prosecuted for the
events in Odi. Human Rights Watch urged that the government’s response
to events in Benue must not be characterized by the same negligence.

“President Obasanjo must accept responsibility for the actions of the
Nigerian army and put an end to the impunity which protects the Nigerian
armed forces,” said Takirambudde.

Human Rights Watch also warned that these latest events would aggravate
an already tense situation in Benue and neighboring states in central
Nigeria which have been the scene of repeated inter-communal violence in
the last few months. Hundreds of people have lost their lives in clashes
between different ethnic groups in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Plateau
States and tens of thousands have been displaced.

“The Nigerian Government has a responsibility to tackle the roots of
these problems and restore peace in the area,” said Takirambudde. “It
cannot just stand by and watch, or intervene only when members of its
own security forces are affected.”

For more information on military abuses in Nigeria, please see
Nigeria: Military Must Account for Abuses (HRW Press Release, May 11,
2001) at http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/05/bush0511.htm

Human Rights in Nigeria (HRW Page Focus)at
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/nigeria/

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