By Simon Ebegbulem
BENIN—Benin National Congress (BNC), a socio-cultural organization in Edo state, has appealed to Amnesty International and the Red Cross Society to urgently come to the aid of hundreds of Nigerians facing execution in Libya and Morocco .
The group condemned what it described as the non-challant attitude of the Federal Government and other political office holders towards the matter and vowed that history would not forgive them if the victims were allowed to die in Libya.
In a letter addressed to Amnesty International and the Red Cross Society, signed by the BNC President, Comrade Aiyemenkhue Edokpolo, the group commended the efforts made so far by Abike Dabiri, a member of the House of Representatives, but stressed the need for international agencies to intervene in the matter so as to get the attention of the Libyan government.
According to the group, “we are not unmindful of the moves being made by the government and concerned citizens of Nigeria over their release and safe return to Nigeria; yet we strongly believe that given your very credible profile of sustained dedication to the cause of the dejected; displaced; condemned and war-ravaged peoples all over the world, it has become expedient to solicit same for the sake of our Nigerian people.
The group noted that the fate of the detainees had been compounded by the ambiguous cooperation between Nigeria’s foreign Affairs Ministry and the Libyan authorities for well over one month.
“Some of the victims are on genuine course of businesses and tourism, so it will be hasty generalization for the Libyan and Moroccan governments to tag them all as miscreants and criminal aliens.
“Our primary aim is to enlist the solidarity of your noble group towards the expeditious release of these Nigerians who are currently being allegedly persecuted albeit secretly.
“While diplomatic arrangements are being made by governments and concerned humanitarian organizations, we plead that the government and people of Libya and Morocco should be kind enough to refrain from acts capable of escalating the humanitarian crisis, like the allegations of rape, robbery and assault on the detainees and other lawabiding Nigerians resident in their respective countries,” it stated.
The group asked that more international pressures be piled on the governments of the two countries to reassure the detainees and their families of the safe return of the affected persons.
“While we commend the leadership of the House of Representatives, especially the Abike Dabiri-led committee, we are respectfully disappointed at other top elected and appointed state and national leaders respectively, because they have been very silent and seemingly insensitive to the plight of the thousands of Nigerians who are victims of years of misrule perpetuated by the political class and self-induced immorality on the part of our youths.
“This plea is further predicated on our strong believe that unless the issue is addressed in favour of the safe return of the detainees, the consequences of their deaths by hanging or any other forms of criminal execution will be immeasurable in NIgeria, as the multiplier-effect will be better imagined.
“This is so because Nigerian youths will react over the killings or execution and such actions could not be predicted,” it warned.
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Well if those Nigerians held by the Libya and Moroccan authorities are by any means executed ,every Nigerians should take note and make sure that any Libyans or Moroccan citizens within and outside Nigerian territories blood should not be spares and our Government shall also be held accountable for negligent of their citizens,whenever they are out of power cos enough is enough.
All the Nigerian prisoners in Libya and Morroco are christains, the arabs are racist to a fellow musliman simply because he is black, talk less of a black christain immigrant. U.S.A drone should be watching activities in these countries because they take pleasure in be-heading non-muslims for nothing. Shame on you present and past Nigerian proud corrupt leaders hiding under the shadow of demo-crazy. these conpatriots today awaiting execution in exile, were drop outs and graduates you frustrated out of the country by your wicked governance. Imagine your problem with ASUU , that you inherit and pass-over , which youth do you expect to keep folding hands and watching you share the national cake alone without thinking for a way forward, that way forward is costing the christains outside the country their lives, the arabs want to avange for BOKO HARAM, You made less- priviledge Nigerian parents usually christains weep always, be rest assured that you all criminal leaders shall cry too at old age, “KEEP ON SACRIFICING THE YOUTHS” time shall come we the fitted and survived youths of today by GODS kind and special grace shall collectlively judge you all like the case of sergent Doe. May devil bless your soul in advance because we are already paranoid and there will be no second chance for you.
I don’t actually know what the Libyan govt. is upto! The other time, some nurses were said to be prosecuted and possibly face death penalty over the alligation that some Libyan children were infected with HIV; yet, the same govt. gave a heroic welcome to one of their terrorist son who sniffed out lives of over 200 persons in the Lockerbie bombing.
This same Gaddafi is the one clamouring for a United State of Africa (USA) and yet, he is executing his fellow Africans? I know understood his clamour for a US of Africa, so that he can execute Africans in a united ground!
We are in solidarity with the Benin National Congress on this cause, in fact, we are finetuning plans to drag the federal government to account for their reckless neglect and under representation of Nigerians since 1963 especially on issues that relates to sovereign rights of citizens. It is amoral to find a government showing little or no concern to an issue of death sentences on the lives of over two thousand able-bodied-citizens mostly energetic men and women whom should be saved and deployed for very proteinously-productive ventures that will better all and sundry.
The appeal to Amnesty International by the BNC is a polite indictment on the government and concerned authorities of Nigerian extraction. It is the height of absurdity; irresponsiblity and misnormality to put it mindly. We are ashamed of Nigeria’s democracy.
Harrison Oshegale- Director of Press relations.