Sixteen foreign-based civil society organisations have called for the prosecution of the Joint Task Force Commander, Gen. Sarkin Yarkin-Bello, over the killing of civilians in Gbaramatu, Delta State.
The groups, in a joint petition to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands also requested a probe into the role played by President Umaru Yar’Adua in the incident.
In the petition which came just as the JTF on Sunday extended its operations to Rivers State where its operatives killed a militant leader in Abonnema, the groups said they believed that Yaki-Bello and the military had cases to answer for the crimes they allegedly committed against humanity.
The civil society organisations include Trans Africa Forum, Centre for Civil Society, Environmental Justice Project of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Sweet Crude, Communities for a Better Environment, the Borneo Project, the Justice in Nigeria Now and the Center for Third World Organising.
Others are Global Exchange, Rainforest Action Network, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Crude Accountability, Oil Change International, Counter Corp, Foreign Policy In Focus and Sustainable Energy and Economy Network.
The groups claimed that the military carried out land, water and aerial bombardments of Oporoza, Kurutie, Kunukunuma, Kokodiagbene, Okerenkoko, Azama, Benikurukuru and Ubefan communities in Gbaramatu Local Government Area, “under the guise of attacking militants.”
The petition reads in part, “Residents of the villages and those visiting for a festival on the day the bombing began were forced to flee their homes and villages. They are hiding in the bush and do not have adequate food or medical supplies.
“The JTF has not allowed humanitarian aid groups or journalists into the area. As of today, the coordinated aerial and ground attacks by the JTF and mass starvation continue.
“Reports suggest that thousands of innocent civilians are dead already. Reports also suggest that this was a well planned attack with the possible collusion of state government officials.
“We urge the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor to use its power to investigate and prosecute those responsible for these crimes against humanity, including Brigadier General Yarkin-Bello, who is reportedly in command of the JTF’s operations. Questions regarding President Yar’Adua’s involvement must also be investigated.”
They drew the attention of the ICC to past killings in Umecuem and Odi communities but lamented that nobody was prosecuted even when there were documented by international groups, including the Human Rights Watch.
Also on Sunday, the people of Benikrukru in Delta State sent a petition to the United Nations over an attack by the JTF on their community on Saturday.
The people, in the petition by their Chairman, Mr. Joseph Wuruyan, and Secretary, Mr. Jeffrey Ojogun, said Benikrukru had never been a base of the militants.
They said, “If the Nigerian military is actually looking for militants, they would have concentrated on the so-called militant camps and not our own Benikrukru community which has nothing to do with militancy.We have made official representations to the state and federal governments but no respite despite the devastating nature of the military operation.
“Corpses are decaying and survivors of the attack are taking cover in nearby bushes without food, water and drugs and in continuous fear of repeated attacks. Victims of this military action are mainly women, children and the aged who are vulnerable.
“We are, therefore, calling on the international community and indeed the United Nations to intervene to put an end to this genocide attacks on defenceless and hapless people with dispatch.”
But just as the petitions were made available to journalists, the higher echelon of the JTF met in Effurun, Delta State , on Sunday, apparently to review the ongoing operation against militants.
The meeting, held at 3 Battalion, Effurun, and presided over by Yarkin-Bello, was said to have had Brig.-Gen. Wuyep Rimtip, and some top officials of Navy, Nigeria Air Force, Nigeria Police Force as well as the State Security Service in attendance.
A source in JTF said, “Our ogas (bosses) had a crucial meeting at JTF’s Delta State headquarters in Effurun on Sunday.The agenda of the meeting was not disclosed to the junior officers but it may not be unconnected with the ongoing military operation in the state.
“But I believe the meeting was to review the ongoing military operation in the Niger Delta in order to determine the way forward.”
Meanwhile, the JTF Spokesman, Col. Rabe Abubakar, said on Sunday that three Filipinos — Mr. Enrico Arelano, Mr. Romeo Naclicar and Mr. Napoleon Emphasis — had been rescued from militants during an operation in Gbaramatu.
He added that the freed hostages were undergoing medical treatment at an undisclosed JTF hospital.
Abubakar said, “It is pertinent to note that in all the communities searched by the JTF so far, large quantities of arms and ammunition, as well as hostages kidnapped by the militants, were discovered.
“With the successes recorded so far in the course of this operation, the Task Force wants to debunk the allegation that its troops are targeting some individuals, or certain ethnic groups.
“We conducted the operation in the most professional manner and the security outfit is only focusing on the areas where there are militants and their hideouts where hostages were being kept. It is not a random operation.
“We are soliciting for the cooperation of the public, especially those affected by this purge, to furnish us with information that will lead to the arrest of the miscreants who unleash terror on innocent members of the communities.
He also said that a suspected militant leader, Nana Sele, was killed during a shoot-out with troops that carried out a dawn raid on suspected militants’ hideout in Abonnema.
The JTF spokesman said several other suspected militants, who fought against the troops, escaped with gunshot wounds into the creeks.
Abubakar also said on Sunday that the JTF operatives had razed another militant hideout , Opuyepuye Camp, near Abiteye Flow Station in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.