Human Rights Commission Says Police Downplaying Scale Of Carnage In Ombatse

The National Human Rights Commission says it believes that over 80% of members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) that went to troubled in Lafia Local East Government Area of Nasarawa State on May 7, at least 80 people, were killed by Ombatse group.

In a report prepared by the Nasarawa State Office (NSO) on the extra-judicial killings, the commission said it believes the Nigeria Police Force is deliberately keeping low the number of members of the JTF killed low so as not to demoralize other members of the police force and also not to create panic within the force.

“They also do not want to create panic in the state by giving the citizens the impression that the police are helpless and cannot protect them,” the report said.

Tracing the background to the tragedy, the NSO said the JTF was constituted at the instance of Governor Tanko Al-Makura following reports of attacks on churches and mosques in Alakyo by members of the Ombatse Cultural Group.  The JTF, numbering about 100 and led by Assistance Commissioner of Police Momoh, included the police, the military and the State Security Service.

The ill-fated visit may, however, have been leaked, as the JTF walked into a “perfect ambush.”  The Ombatse attackers were ready and waiting by the time the JTF got there, the report said.  Those who survived are being treated at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) in Lafia, the state capital.  The commission learnt that about 34 corpses have been recovered and taken to DASH.

The report recommended, among others: a thorough investigation of the matter so that the perpetrators and their sponsors may be brought to book; prompt payment of all the entitlements of the slain officers to their families; and ensuring that the families of the slain officers that live in the barracks are not evicted from their houses until alternative accommodations are made available.


Full text of the report:

REPORT ON THE EXTRA-JUDIAL KILLING OF MEMBERS OF A JOINT TASK FORCE (JTF) IN ALAKYO, LAFIA EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NASARAWA STATE

By The National Human Rights Commission • Protecting the rights of people

On May 7, 2013 members of a Joint Task Force which was constituted at the instance of the Executive Governor ofNasarawa State, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura , were allegedly summarily executed by members of OMBATSE CULTURAL GROUP in Alakyo, in Lafia Local East Government Area ofNasarawa State.

The Commission learnt that reports had reached the Executive Governor, government and security agencies in Nasarawa State that a group called OMBATSE CULTURAL GROUP where attacking churches and mosques in Alakyo village.

It was reported that the group were abducting youths from churches and mosques and forcing them to join the group. They were said to be initiating the youths into the group by pricking the skin with a sharp object/blade until the victim bleeds and the same object/blade is used to prick the skin of another victim, thus implying that if one victim is infected with the HIV virus, all may be infected. This was said to be done by a man believed to be their spiritual leader, who provides members of the group with charms to make them invincible to bullets.

The Executive Governor then summoned the security chiefs, traditional and religious leaders in the state for a security meeting and it was agreed in the meeting that if the matter was not curbed it may escalate in the near future.

A Joint Task Force (JTF) was then constituted, which includes the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Military and the State Security Service (SSS), and mobilized to stop the group. The JTF was led by ACP Momoh.

The JTF were said to be going to Alakyo village to assess the situation and make arrest of the spiritual head suspected of supplying the group with charms. The JTF numbering about 100 (maybe more) in 11 hilux pickup trucks were ambushed and many of them killed. Those who survived are being treated at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) in Lafia. All efforts to speak to the survivors proved abortive as the Commission was not allowed to see them.

As at the time of writing this report, it was learnt that about 34 corpses had been recovered and taken to DASH in Lafia.

An eye witness to the recovery mission of the corpses, an ambulance driver with DASH, told the Commission that when they got to Alakyo, there was no one in sight, but in a while members of OMBATSE started coming out of their hiding places and accosted them. He said all the ambulance and pickup trucks sent to recover the corpses were searched for weapons and explosives. When the members of Ombatse were sure that they were only there to recover the corpse of the slain JTF members, they then began to show the team where the bodies were. He said the bodies were scattered over a wide range of area, indicating that the JTF members had probably taken to their heels in a bid to survive the attack. Some of the bodies were burnt and then buried; some were just burnt while others were just left to rot. He also said members of Ombatse asked them to take the entire corpse or face the same fate. As at the time of writing this report, recovery efforts were still on-going.

The Nasarawa State Office of the Commission (NSO) was at theNasararwa State Command to see the Commissioner of Police (CP) and condole the NPF on the loss of men and officers of the force, on behalf of the Executive Secretary and Governing Council of the National Human Rights Commission. It was gathered that the spiritual head suspected of supplying charms to the group had been invited, on several occasions, by the CP,Nasarawa State Command, to his office but he declined tohonour the invitation which necessitated the warrant for his arrest. It was also gathered that there might have been a leak of information about the arrest of the spiritual head to the group. This is because members of the group laid a perfect ambush for members of the JTF. The group was ready and waiting by the time the JTF got there.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mike Ada, narrated the story of what happened and said recovery efforts was still on-going and that as at that time (10.00am, 9th May, 2013) about 20 corpse had been recovered.

OPINION

The NSO is of the opinion that most of the members of the JTF (about 80%) have been killed by Ombatse group, now tagged a local militia. The NPF are keeping the number of members of the JTF killed low so as not to demoralize other members of the police force and also not to create panic within the force. They also do not want to create panic in the state by giving the citizens the impression that the police are helpless and cannot protect them.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The NSO recommends that:

I. The Commission should ensure that there is a thorough investigation of the matter so that the perpetrators and their sponsors may be brought to book.

II. The Commission should ensure the prompt payment of all the entitlements of the slain officers to their families so as to enable them take care of their families.

III. The Commission should ensure that the families of the slain officers that live in the barracks are not evicted from their houses until alternative accommodations are made available.

IV. The Commission should ensure that early warning systems and most especially, early response to the warnings are taken seriously in the near future to prevent this type of killings.

V. The Commission should assist the families of the slain police officers, materially and financially, so as to enable the families take care of themselves. This will help in cementing the relationship of the Commission and the NPF, as they always think the Commission does not protect and promote their human rights.

VI. The Commission should pay a condolence visit to the NPF and sympathize with them on the loss of their men and officers.

VII. The Commission should encourage state governments and the NPF to use dialogue rather than force in resolving conflicts.

VIII. The Commission should organize a peace conference amongst the warring communities in Nasarawa State and the various security agencies with a view to encouraging dialogue as a means of resolving conflicts rather than violence.