Enforced Disappearance: Nigerian Military Embark On Secret Court Martial Conviction, Sentences Abducted Igbo Youths To Prisons In Northern Nigeria

Enforced Disappearance: Nigerian Military Embark On Secret Court Martial Conviction, Sentences Abducted Igbo Youths To Prisons In Northern Nigeria

The issue of enforced disappearing of citizens in Eastern Nigeria by the Nigerian forces has taken a deeply troubling dimension. And, the recent reports of the Nigerian military, especially the Nigerian Army engaging in secret court martial proceedings to convict and sentence Igbo youths abducted at various locations across Southeast to prisons in Northern Nigeria underscores the plethora of grave violation of human rights and blatant disregard to rule of law by the Nigerian Military in collaboration with the Nigeria government.

In recent months, there have been disturbing reports of enforced disappearances of hundreds of Igbo Men and Youths. These abductions are being carried out in collusion between elements of the Nigerian Military; the Army and the state secret police(DSS). 

These victims, when abducted by Nigerian security forces, gets denied due process, access to family members and fundamental legal protections, while the Nigerian Military authorities continue to deny these accusations and also refuse to disclose accurate information about the fate and whereabouts of these disappeared youths held in various detention facilities in the north.

A disturbing yet reliable report gathered by Family Writers Press International, has it that the Nigerian military have begun a court martial process in the North to convict and imprison these Igbo Youths abducted and kept in secret dungeons in Northern barracks.

The report revealed that these court martial proceedings are being conducted in secret, without allowing these victims access to their own legal protection, family relations, judicial transparency or oversight. These blatant egregious acts show the unending violations of the principles of justice and the rule of law by the Nigerian military.

Moreso, investigations by Human Rights groups and eyewitness testimonies reveal that  these missing Igbo youths have been secretly moved from the South and detained at various military facilities in the North after their extra-legal abductions from the streets and highways of Southeast. 

Several reliable sources revealed that the abducted youths were subsequently subjected to a sham court martial process behind closed doors. They have been summarily tried and convicted at kangaroo court-martial for fictitious crimes, with sentences ranging from 5 to 20 years imprisonment handed down to them. In a worrisome development, the convicted youths have quietly been transported and incarcerated in faraway maximum security prisons located in Northern Nigeria, far from their communities and families in the South-East. The affected families and local advocacy groups expressed shock and outrage at this brazen abuse of power and flagrant violation of legal and human rights by the Nigerian military. They accuse the Nigerian security forces of illegally detaining and disappearing the Igbo youths solely for their ethnicity in the ongoing tensions over secessionist agitations, ethni-political tensions in the country.

In a recent development, one Emeka Ngonadi (Male, 42) was kidnapped and disappeared by the personnel of the Nigerian Army on his way to Owerri from Lagos on 10th April, 2024, and was spontaneously accused of several allegations such as being a member of IPOB, participating and enabling terrorism activities in Nigeria. It was gathered after reliable investigations carried out by his legal counsel that he was moved to Wawa Army barracks in the North were he was later court-martial and sentenced to five (5) years in prison in the North without access to a legal representative or family relations. 

What is most troubling about this situation is the blatant disregard for  basic human rights of these kidnapped victims involved. These abducted youths who have not been found to be involved in any illegal activities by any Nigerian court of competent jurisdiction, are being stripped of their freedoms and their dignity without any semblance of a fair trial in a court of competent jurisdiction. The fact that they are being held in prisons in the northern parts of the country, far from their family relatives, homes and communities, only adds to the  sense of isolation, mental torture and dehumanization meted on them in these faraway dungeons.

Again, the fact that Nigerian military who often times declare their loyalty to the democratic principles and to the constitution of Nigeria, to embark on these secret court-martial trials and convictions of innocent youths abducted in Southeast in a democratic dispensation, underscores the high levels of abuse of power, disregard to the principle of checks and balances, violation of the principles of rule of law, human rights and negligence to due process by the Nigerian military authorities.

The implications of this situation extend far beyond the individuals directly affected. It represents a fundamental erosion of the principles of justice and the rule of law in Nigeria, with the military and government colluding to circumvent legal protections and due process to victims of enforced disappearances. This sets a dangerous precedent that have far-reaching consequences for the country's democratic institutions and the rights of all of its citizens.

Moreover, the use of enforced disappearance as a tool of political repression is a grave violation of international human rights law. Nigeria has been countlessly found guilty of this act despite having ratified numerous international treaties and conventions that prohibit such practices.  It is incumbent upon the government to uphold these commitments and ensure that the rights of all its citizens are protected under the treaties binding on her.

In the face of these egregious human rights abuses, it is essential that the international community, as well as human rights and civil society organizations within Nigeria, speak out and demand accountability from the Nigerian military. The Nigerian government must be held responsible to account for its high-handed actions, and violation of  its citizens human rights and freedoms. 

Unless the Nigerian authorities provide answers regarding the whereabouts and wellbeing of these abducted and disappeared Igbo youths languishing in various detention facilities in Nigeria, Nigeria will continue to be called out  for their failure and violations of both national and international laws protecting citizens from arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and the right to a fair judicial process. These undemocratic actions, such as the secret court-martial trials will continue to further undermine the trust in state institutions and fray inter-ethnic relations at a time when dialogue is needed the most. Pressure is mounting for an independent investigation and accountability of all those complicit in these injustices, especially in the Nigerian Army personnel and other security forces.

Therefore, it is advisable for the Nigerian government and military authorities to release all victims of secret court-martial trials held in the North, if Nigeria truly prides itself as a democratic country. Otherwise, if these undemocratic actions go unresolved, Nigeria will be heading to self-inflicted anarchy and subtle military takeover. The time to act wise is now.

#FreeNnamdiKanu

#FreeAllDetainedBiafrans

Family Writers Press International.