Shocking news and photos have emerged online of alleged
Soldier Brutality showing how military personnel attached to a white man
working with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company were ordered to
beat up a man who resisted electricity bill.
Below is the statement retrieved from Edo Civil Society Group website .
WHITE MAN ORDERS SOLDIERS TO BEAT UP A NIGERIAN OVER ELECTRICITY BILL IN EDO STATE
Earlier today, a white man working with the Benin Electricity
Distribution Company (BEDC) orders Military personnel attached to him to
beat up one Mr. Innocent Okpara over resistance of the electricity
company officials to take his expensive wires after disconnection for
non payment of electricity bills.This happened behind Santana Market, Sapele Road, Benin City in the
presence of the Business Manager, a Nigerian in charge of the business
unit that covers the area. The man has been disconnected for owing the
company an amount he said could not be justified, his argument was that,
he bought the wires with his money and that it does not belong to the
private company hence, he was not going to allow them to take away the
expensive wires.Similar reports have reached the human rights community of the
activities in the past of same white men who go about with military
personnel to harass, intimidate, humiliate, brutalize and in some cases
threaten to shoot citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria over
electricity issues. Such case was that of one Mr. Owas Evbuomwan about a
month ago in Oluku-Iguosa axis who was threatened by military personnel
attached to another white man working with BEDC to shoot if he dares
question the authority of a white man in threatening a Nigerian like
him. It should be noted that there are three of them working with BEDC
and they all exhibit the habit of creating fear and tension in the minds
of Nigerians thereby making Nigerians look like cowards in their own
land.Reports have been passed to the 4 Mechanized Brigade, Benin City
severally on the activities of soldiers who molest and assault citizens
and no action have been demonstrated to show there is still value for
human rights even in a democratic dispensation like ours. A lot of such
incidences are archived with pictorial evidences and victims are readily
available to testify of military brutalization and assault on their
persons without direct provocation that warrants same.It is important for Nigerians to still know if our leaders have
finally handed over the life and destiny to foreigners or this is
another round of colonial rule using our military to achieve.The Edo Civil Society Organisations will stop at nothing to mobilize
all other Nigerians to resist any form of colonial tendencies even if
our leaders are docile and non chalant about it. We cannot tolerate it,
because Nigerians in the Diaspora cannot try what these white men are
daring here.To this end, we are demanding a full scale investigation into the
activities of these white men working with BEDC to the extent that
whether they possess such rights in line with our constitution to
command our military personnel to unleash terror on citizens. We cannot
be slaves in our own land because these white men are here to elk a
living for themselves and another round of colonial tendencies we shall
resist even with the last drop of our blood. The most stupid Nigerian at
least deserves some respects from a foreigner in his land.We own the Land.
INNOCENT OKPARA DEMANDS JUSTICE FROM THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT, THE HUMILIATION ON HIM BY A FOREIGNER IS TOO MUCH.
WILL THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT ACT?
Comrade Osazee Edigin
PRO, Edo Civil Society Organisations
