Amnesty International said on Friday that Nigeria’s army last month killed at least 17 unarmed members of a group calling for secession from Africa’s most populous nation, but the military dismissed the allegations as unfounded. An army spokesman said Amnesty’s accusations, the latest in a series of allegations of impropriety levelled against Nigeria’s military, are unverified claims.
The Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, Col. H.A. Gambo said AI was simply out to discredit the force.
AI had on Friday asked the Federal Government to probe the army for allegedly gunning down unarmed people ahead of last month’s planned pro-Biafran commemoration events in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The rights group said in a report that evidence it gathered from eyewitnesses, morgues and hospitals confirmed that between May 29 and 30, 2016, soldiers opened fire on members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), supporters and bystanders at three locations in the town.
It said the exact number of deaths was unknown, partly due to the fact that the army took away corpses and the injured.
.
