More reactions have continued to trail the alleged massacre of suspected Boko Haram members by military operatives in last Friday’s operation in a neighbourhood located behind Zone E of the Apo Legislative Quarters in Abuja.
Former, vice president, Atiku Abubakar; a human right activist group and other concerned members of the public have called on the National Assembly to take a cursory look at the incident so as to clear lingering doubts about the operations of the security operatives on the fateful Friday.
However, the National Assembly has also shown concerns while reacting to the issue and assured that the it will look into the incident in earnest.
According to a statement by Atiku’s media office, it is only an independent investigation by Nigeria’s parliament, the judiciary or civil society that will unravel the facts behind the killing of nine citizens with 16 others injured in the reported shooting incident.
Atiku said he became disturbed following the accounts by the popular International news agency, Reuters as well as the local media that the victims were squatters who came under attack at the instigation of the owner of the building.
“Since the incident took place in the early morning hours of Friday, there have been conflicting reports concerning the shoot-out with the State Security Service (SSS) claiming that they had a confrontation with the insurgent group, Boko Haram, while independent sources are indicating that the victims were economic migrants squatting in the uncompleted building.
“For me, this issue borders on human rights, the rule of law and the sanctity of human life.”
The former vice president advised security services to stick to their role under the constitution while he recalled that in 2006, it took riots by Igbo traders in the Federal Capital Territory to force the government at that time to investigate arrest and charge police officers that allegedly killed six Igbo traders who were branded as armed robbers.
Atiku demanded an independent investigation into the incident as part of the efforts to institutionalise human rights and the rule of law.
Besides, in a similar vein, the Human Rights Congress of Nigeria, (HURICON), in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Dr. Saheed Amitolu also condemned the incident and called for an independent, dispassionate and definitive investigation to untie knots of controversy over the incident
“The SSS should know better than to expect Nigerians and the whole world to just believe their verbal submission that these men are Boko Haram members. There are ways to do this and one of such is the presentation of evidences to back the claim.”
The rights group also disapproved of the failure of the SSS to give adequate insight into the incident as at 24 hours after nine people were reportedly killed with several others were injured.
HURICON also said the SSS has displayed an unprofessional approach towards the incident.
Although, an unnamed principal officer of the Senate said there are various conflicting reports, it was assured that the senate will not compromise the nation’s security by adequately investigating all the requests gathered.
“We have got conflicting reports; we will look into all requests without compromising the nation’s security. We will ensure justice for the dead and the living in the light of the unusual challenges facing our nation. We will consider the incident on merit”, the senator stated.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs and also the spokesperson of the House, Alhaji Mohammed Zakari, noted that issues have been raised from various quarters and will leave no stone unturned after an oversight function tour by the representatives.
“Some people have raised issues about the incident; we will investigate these after returning from our one-week oversight function tour”, he said.
A former Lagos Police Commissioner, Abubakar Tsav, also appealed to the legislators and the judiciary to promptly investigate the killings with a view to establishing the true identity of the victims.
Tsav said the disparity in the statement of the statement of the SSS and the accounts of international news agencies as well as the local media on the incident is worrisome.
“The situation now is that there is confusion over the entire incident. It has become very difficult to simply believe the account of the SSS. We all are aware that some of the survivors and even neighbours are saying those killed are not Boko Haram members.
“And this is an issue about the killing of human beings. While we should do nothing to prevent our security operatives from doing their job, it is also important for us to be sure that they do not resort to extra-judicial killings”, he added.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Apo Keke NAPEP Riders Association, Augustine Apeh, said the association is laying low on the issue since it has become a national security issue and victims have been tagged as Boko Haram members.
“We are not doing anything over the matter for now because it has turned a security issue”, Apeh stated.
“Some Senators and members of the House of Representatives from Zamfara and Katsina States have taken the dead for burial. They are not back yet. But they promised that they will not allow the matter to be swept under the carpet.
“None of the 13 gunshot victims in Asokoro General Hospital has been discharged. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister through the Permanent Secretary has promised to foot the bills of the victims.
He urged the security operatives to display to the public any weapon allegedly used to confront them if truly those attacked and killed were Boko Haram members.
Some of the other aggrieved persons have assured the National Assembly of their readiness to testify during any open inquiry into the incident.
In a related development, a reliable source in the hospital revealed that the SSS operatives visited the hospital on Friday night at 6:30 pm on a suspected mission to identify members of the insurgent group.
“I saw the SSS operatives at about 6:30 pm in the evening. They went straight to the Accident and Emergency Department to obtain statements from the people who were suspected to be Boko Haram members. They came on a vehicle, about six of them and went straight to the hospital.”
And one of the victims confirmed that the operatives took the photograph of the ten victims who are currently receiving treatment in the Hospital.
“The SSS officials came with guns, other dangerous weapons, took our photographs, our names and other important details. Their faces were unfriendly and they neither laughed nor smiled,” he stated.