July 31, 1968 France Backs Biafra’s Position The French government today backed the Biafran position and called for international action to end the civil war on the basis of right of self-determination. “The human tragedy taking place in Biafra preoccupies and moves the French Government,” the statement said. Independent of its desire…
Chapter 13 Extent of Loss of Property and the Value of such Property Dealing with our fourth term of reference namely to “ascertain the extent of loss of property and assess the value” we wish to state that for this purpose it would be practically impossible to take oral evidence from every…
Chapter 12 Medical Cases Three hundred and ninety-nine reports on individuals cases were submitted from the various hospitals, in ATR 2 Form A. The victims ranged in age from two to seventy years. Both sexes were involved. The injuries and the modes of their infliction were protean; the results of treatment…
Q. 5.803: “Your pant?” “No, all of them had gone.” Q. 5804: “So you had nothing on?” “Nothing, only sleeveless singlet. So as the woman was crying, her husband asked me what happened to me. I told him that I was burnt by some people and that I wanted his help. He told…
Chapter 11 Personal Injuries Method of Investigation It was considered expedient that direct approach to the medical personnel who treated the victims of the disturbances would yield the most reliable results. Since the purpose of the Tribunal was for perpetuation of testimony, it was appropriate to bring to bear the…
Witness: Dr. E.C. Okoye Day: 13 Figure: 1,000 (Sept) Grounds for credibility: Witness got this figure from a policeman who had opportunity of going round the town. This was up to 30th September. Witness: Mrs. A.N. Ishie Day: 34 Figure: 67 (May) Grounds for credibility: Ward…
Chapter 10 Extent of Loss of Life The ascertainment of this was a herculean and probably impossible task. The Nigerian authorities had made no effort to issue any figures which would inspire any confidence in their accuracy. They had rather engaged themselves in denying estimates of the dead given by other…
Chapter 9 Causes of the Pogrom Various reasons have been assigned for the 1966 Pogrom. Some suggest it was a retaliation for the January 1966 coup in which Sir Ahmadu Bello and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, among others losts their lives. Others say it was a reaction against Decree No. 34 which…
Chapter 7 Revolting Aspects of the Pogrom Under this head we deal with what we consider the sinister aspects of the pogrom. Firstly, the planning and organisation of the pogrom. We have dwelt with this at length in the previous pages. Secondly the false sense of security to which the Authorities lured…
Chapter 6 The Spread of the Pogrom to all Parts of Northern Nigeria and to some Towns of Southern Nigeria in September and October, 1966 The May riots affected mainly the Hausa/Fulani areas of Northern Nigeria. It did not affect the Bornu Emirate to the North-East, the area commonly called the Middle…