The Nigerian Army has urged Amnesty International (AI) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take “immediate action” and hold proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its sponsor, Simon Ekpan, accountable for crime against civilians in the Southeast.
It said the international community must condemn “in the strongest terms” IPOB’s mistreatment of an unarmed and law-abiding citizen in the region.
A statement yesterday in Abuja by its spokesman Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, reads: “The Nigerian Army has taken serious note of a disturbing video circulating online, posted by the self-acclaimed Prime Minister of IPOB, Simon Ekpa. In the appalling footage, an ex-soldier, Corporal Toriola Adewale, who honourably retired from the Nigerian Army six years ago, was obviously subjected to brutal torture by the so-called IPOB/Biafra Liberation Army.
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“He was also forced to deliver coerced messages to active military personnel, urging them to abdicate their constitutional responsibilities and abandon their duties. This defenceless citizen was further compelled to falsely claim he was treated well while being held captive.
“It must be unequivocally stated that the claim by IPOB and its terrorist leader that ex-Corporal Toriola is still serving in the Nigerian Army is far from the truth.
“This outrageous propaganda by IPOB terrorist group is undoubtedly an attempt to justify their savagely mistreatment of an unarmed, law-abiding citizen who served his country meritoriously. Such dehumanising acts must be condemned in the strongest terms by the international community.”