ABUJA-The shooting by security operatives at an uncompleted building behind Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja last Friday which claimed eight lives took a new turn yesterday as Garki Modern Market Traders Association vowed to drag the security service to court claiming those who were killed were its members and were innocent.
One of the survivors recounted his experience giving a graphic detail of how the incident happened.
Traders Association to sue DSS
Garki Modern Market Traders’ Association has started briefing its lawyers with a view to dragging the Department of State Service, DSS,to court over the killing of its members at an uncompleted building, behind the Apo Legislative Quarters, in Abuja, last week.
The Secretary of the association, Murtala Abubakar, said that they had already reported the murder of their members to the Senate and the National Human Rights Commission for appropriate actions against the murderers.
Abubakar lamented: “Those people are eligible traders trading in our market so I don’t see why they should be killed.”
According to him, “We lost two of our members as now, while eight were seriously wounded by the soldiers who shot them at close range. Five others are missing as we speak.
“The security agents did not recover anything not even a gun. They were just saying that our members opened fire on them but they were just saying it to cover up because they don’t have any proof that these people are Boko Haram”
Abubakar added that the DSS was still holding two of the association’s members who were arrested on Friday morning as they went back to collect their property from the scene of massacre.
Abuja Keke Napep Chairman, Musa Ibrahim
“We are here this morning to take the remaining two bodies from the mortuary although one of the bodies has been here in AsokoroHospital mortuary since Friday.
“We took seven bodies and gave them to their relatives since the day of the attack. The body that was deposited in mortuary was as a result of our not being able to get in touch with the family.
“We have been able to establish contact with all the families of the slain men. Meanwhile, we just lost another victim who was rushed to the hospital that Friday. His name was Nasiru Adamu, and hailed from ZamfaraState.
“The seven that were killed that day were all our Keke NAPEP members; we issued them with identity cards, which they were carrying at the time of their death.
“They had lived in that uncompleted building for over two years and were paying N200 weekly to the security guard of the building as a caretaker of the landlord.
“Even the owner of the building was aware that these people were living in the house. He had given them a quit notice and they were preparing to leave a day before the attack.
“After the attack, there were no security operatives around the building; it was our members who even informed the nearest police station to come around.
“If those who were left in the building were actually Boko Haram, they would have run away after the attack.
“As we know, those who lost their lives and the survivors were not Boko Haram members. We want the Federal Government to thoroughly investigate the matter and punish whoever is behind the dastardly act because it is not acceptable.
Meanwhile, one of the victims died on Monday, bringing the death toll to 10.
Nine persons had earlier been killed by bullets fired by security agents when they stormed an uncompleted storey building in the neighbourhood in search of ‘terrorists’ whom they claimed tried to stop them from uncovering buried arms in the compound.
The tenth victim of the onslaught gave up the ghost on Monday morning at the Asokoro GeneralHospital, which has been besieged by human right activists, relatives of victims and security agents since the dead and wounded were transferred to the medical facility.
When Vanguard visited the hospital, relatives of the dead and wounded, human rights activists, sympathizers, religious leaders, youth leaders, lawyers and politicians were seen in small groups strategizing on how to handle the killings, which they described as extra-judicial.
Bakori/Danja Constituency, Katsina State Rep, Hon. Amiru Nadabo accuses DSS of feeding Nigerians with lies.
Hon. Nadabo who was sited at the Hospital premises along with other mourners, accused the DSS of feeding Nigerians with lies, insisting that Nnational Assembly would do everything possible to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killings of the Apo 10.
Nadabo, who lost four of his constituents to the killings, vowed that apart from taking the matter to the floor of the National Assembly, they would also take necessary legal action to see redress over the manslaughter of his men.
“I have four of my constituents involved in this unfortunate circumstance and we can’t allow this to continue to happen. These are people that have their jobs and are Keke NAPEP operators.
“It was from their ID cards that we got to know that these people are members of the Keke NAPEP riders association and not armed robbers or terrorists as claimed by the DSS.
“You cannot just be calling them Boko Haram because the security men are at war with Boko Haram.
“Since DSS said it was a joint operation, we asked them to produce their men that had joint operation with the army. The question we ask is, is there supposed to be a joint operation between the army and DSS without the police?
The IG and Commissioner of police said they do not know about the joint operation. The question is now, who went with DSS on the joint operation?
“I think that if they must have joint operation, the police must know but the commissioner of police told us he did not know about it.”
On the next line of action, he said, “we have already petitioned the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Defence staff, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Inspector General of Police because we cannot allow this to continue to happen.
“We are taking this matter to court. We have our lawyers here; they have gone to interview those that were injured so as to take the next line of action. We are in a democracy and this is why we can’t allow this to happen.”
It’s extra-judicial killing— Shehu Sani
The President, Civil Rights Congress, described the action of the security operatives as an extra judicial killing of innocent Nigerians.
He said that fighting terror should not be an excuse to violate the fundamental human rights.
While calling for a thorough investigation into the matter, Sani said, “what has happened is nothing but extra judicial killing. It is one of the arbitrariness and brigandage by the security agencies in this country for the past three years. Fighting insurgency has become an excuse for killing of innocent people in this country.
“What has happened in Abuja is what is happening throughout the country. By this act, we hope to sensitize the people and bring the attention of government to mobilize the consciousness of Nigerians to see that this will be the last in the history of our country.
“By what has happened, we hope to create awareness and also ensure that government will bring to book all those who have made extrajudicial killings a way of life.
“What we have rejected is the positions and narratives given by the security agencies about the dastardly act perpetrated by them.
“We are here to demonstrate that we are fully with the families and will do everything possible to go even beyond this and put pressure on government to ensure that the security agencies responsible for this act are put to account for their action. The families are disposed to take legal action and we are prepared to give them all the necessary support.
“I think that what the security agents are doing is shifting blames because Nigerian have refused to buy the lies they are pushing to them and the scripted fiction that was meant to deceive the people. Those deceits were meant to deceive Nigerians.
“Whether it was the military or the State Security agencies, the mere fact that innocent people were killed by the security agents is a sad commentary and government must go deep down into investigating the issue and make sure that such thing did not happen again.
“Fighting terror is not an excuse to violate the fundamental human rights and killing innocent persons in the name of such things cannot be condoled. By this, we hope that Nigerians will come to know the truth behind war against terror.”
National President, Nigerian Consultative Youth Assembly, Comrade Mustapha Nurudeen demands sack of DSS boss.
The National President, Nigerian Consultative Youth Assembly, Comrade Mustapha Nurudeen said the youth body received the news with shock and had vowed to follow the case to the logical conclusion.
Nuredeen, who described the victims as registered members of Keke NAPEP Association, faulted the security men for not carrying out thorough investigation before attacking the occupants of the building.
He however, said that the youth had already planned a protest to the National Assembly on Wednesday to enable them register their grievances.
“We got this as a shock because our members were involved. We have been able to meet those people that survived and they narrated their side of the story to us. As far as we are concerned, we will pursue the case to the end. Our position is that those people behind these extra judicial killings must be brought to book.
“This is what an average Nigerian passes through every day. It is a national embarrassment. We believe that we all have a stake in protecting the lives of every Nigerian.
“Boko Haram or no Boko Haram, we believe that the security has a duty to protect every body’s life. These people are members of Keke NAPEP Association, they have their ID cards.
“With what we have gathered, we are going to court to fight this injustice. Though, we are still investigating, we must go to court. Besides, we are going on the streets come Wednesday. We are mobilizing the Nigerian youths to the National Assembly.
“We believe that this should be the end of this madness in this country; enough is enough. We must not allow some people to come and infringe on our fundamental human rights.
“One of our demands is that the Deputy Director of SSS, Mrs. Mary Oga must be sacked immediately because she concluded that these people were Boko Haram without doing thorough investigation. We know that their investigation was inconclusive and that the SSS has been compromised.
“We are calling for an independent probe panel to unravel the truth behind this matter. We understand that these people were homeless and their landlord gave them one week quick notice before the attack was carried against them. Provision of accommodation is one of the duties of government. They were there because they could not afford to live in the high brow areas. This is fight for freedom and liberty.”
Abdullahi Ballahlao appeals for probe
He expressed sadness at the incidence and called for thorough investigation of the matter and urged those in authority to fear God and ensure justice, peace and equality among the citizenry.
“We are not happy with what we have seen and we are making an appeal to those in authorities to investigate this issue thoroughly, so that the people will know what happened.
“What we want is justice and equality. Once there is peace and tranquillity everything will fall in place. Those in authority should fear Allah, because this kind of killing is not a welcome development.
Without peace, tranquillity and harmony we cannot practice our religions.”
“For us, we are praying for the sustainability of this country because the country needs peace. That is why those in authority must take serious action to see that those who engaged in this kind of killing are brought to book.’
Hon. Bilaminu Shinkafi
“It is saddening and we are working tirelessly with human right organizations, activists, and other Nigerians who have particular interest in the whole issue.
“The Senate is going to sit tomorrow and my colleagues in the Senate are working on that to bring the matter before the Senate.
We will process the matter and formally present it before the House of Representatives.
As you can see we have the relatives of the victims here and a human right activist, Alhaji Shehu Sani, and we are all working together not to allow this matter die like that.
We are here in Abuja to represent our people and to ensure that their interest is protected, and to make sure that their wellbeing is taken care of.
We will not allow the matter to go the way the ‘Apo six’ was treated because my colleagues and I are here as partners in sincerity and honesty to pursue this matter until justice prevails.
The security personnel committed a lot of blunders in the process of doing their work and they have to account for it.
There is a tradition we know clearly that once it is discovered that terrorists are using a building for their activities, after they have been arrested the building is demolished or government takes over the property. We are waiting to see the next line of action by the security agents. Nigerians and human rights organizations are also watching what they will do.
How we were attacked—Yusuf Abubakar (victim)
Narrating how the incident happened one of the victims, Yusuf Abubakar said “ I remember that a scavenger came into the uncompleted building with his sack over his shoulders and was vandalizing some electric cables and most of the occupants were not around that time, which was about 8 pm.
It was the security guard in the building who caught him and called the owner of the house. The owner of the building ordered the security guard to inform us that all of us who were occupying the house should leave the place under one week or he would call in soldiers to push us out.
This order was given on Wednesday last week, and on Friday the owner of the building deployed armed soldiers at about 12 midnight.
“After they arrived, they surrounded the building, and started shooting right inside the building, and we were over 200 occupants sleeping inside the building that time.
We were in total confusion and were running for our dear lives while soliders were busy gunning down the occupants running in any direction.
The soldiers killed 8 of us, and we just lost one of us in the hospital today (Monday), out of the13 that were brought to Asokoro General Hospital, while one of us was hospitalized at Wuse General Hospital.
“Most of us were killed as a result of standing up, like myself, in the process of running out for safety, I fell down, and then I was shot in my left hand.
“ I was wearing a white shirt which I removed and hid my myself somewhere, and a soldier with his rifle came very close to my side, I thought he saw me, but did not rather shot and killed somebody who was running towards my direction.
“I am still carrying the bullet in my hand; the doctors only come to dress the injury and give me drugs and injection.
“One of the House of Representatives members from ZamfaraState provides food for us. I am from ZamfaraState. I do commercial truck pushing for living at Garki Monday Market.
People are just broadcasting that we were Boko Haram members, who we are not, rather we are into Keke NAPEP driving, commercial truck pushing, cobbling, and selling of sachet water and others.
Brother of deceased, Suleiman Adamu
I was at Mabushi, where I received a call that my elder, Nasiru Adamu, was shot by some soldiers, who came to where he was living, and he was taken along with others injured in the same building at Apo and brought to Asokoro GeneralHospital. He had the shot in his stomach, and died this morning (Monday). He was married with a year old daughter. He was a Keke NAPEP driver at the time he was shot and killed by the soldiers.
Meantime, following unprecedented uproar over the attack by the DSS, security sources yesterday, disclosed that operatives of the service were carrying out frantic searches in and around the building with a view to locating the catch of arms said to be hidden around the area.
Sources said their inability to locate the spot where the arms were said to be buried was as a result of the intense fire power of suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect who allegedly attacked them when they arrived the scene.
According to the sources, “we are not completely ruling out that some innocent residents of the area may have been caught but, in the main, we were sure of the information at our disposal”.
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