Nigerian rights activist and author, Raphael Adebayo, has called on the Federal Government to rein in the military in light of the ongoing operation of the Nigerian Army in the Niger Delta region. The activist urged the government to prioritize honest investigation and peaceful dialogue over human rights violations and the unprovoked massacre of innocent civilians.
In a statement released to the media on Monday, 18 March 2024, Adebayo criticized what he described as ‘the incendiary invasion’ and ‘senseless massacre’ of law-abiding citizens and their properties in Okuama and neighbouring communities in Delta and Bayelsa States.
The activist stated that ‘from what we know so far, the residents of Okuama, Okoloba, and other affected communities have been consistent in their accounts of being the victims of an unprovoked carnage by the Nigerian Army, which has led to the death of dozens of law-abiding Nigerians in the region. President Tinubu must revoke the free rein given to the military in his previous statement on this matter and, alongside the State Governors in the South-South, order an extensive investigation into what happened in those communities.’
The author further noted that ‘Nigeria is already tottering on the brink of collapse due to the combined problems of widespread insecurity, food crisis, human rights abuses, injustice, religious extremism, and the greed of the ruling elites.’ He added that ‘if the situation in the Niger Delta is not quickly resolved through peaceful dialogue, Nigeria may have just opened a terrible Pandora’s box of intractable socio-economic troubles.’
Adebayo’s statement comes on the heels of a series of censures by activists across Nigeria who believe the Nigerian Army acted prematurely and in violation of local and international human rights standards. The activist concluded that ‘those who participated in the escalation of this carnage by the Nigerian Army must be swiftly brought to book. The Nigerian Army must always remember that the privilege of service must never become a license to kill without due investigation and justification.’