By EMEKA MAMAH

The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has rejected preliminary reports submitted by both the military high command and NEMA on the Baga tragedy, saying that available and verifiable evidence had “shown that investigation that produced the reports was everything but thorough.’’

In a statement signed by the the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party called for  urgent and independent investigation into the incident which occurred on April 16, 2013  ‘’to establish the truth, instead of an apparently shoddy investigation.’’

Mohammed said, ‘’those who carried out that investigation apparently discountenanced

the fact that in today’s world, nothing is hidden. Thanks to the satellite imagery released by Human Rights Watch, HRW, on Wednesday, the world is now aware of the massive devastation that occurred in Baga. It is actually worse than what has been reported!

’’The satellite images support the conclusion by the rights group that 2,275 buildings were destroyed in the clashes. They also seem to support the statements credited to the Senator representing the area, Lawan Maina, who put the death toll at 220.

“Contrast this to NEMA’s conclusion that far less than 1,000 homes were destroyed, or the military high command’s finding that only 36 people were killed, and it becomes glaring that something is wrong somewhere.

’The Nigerian media, now the whipping boy of an increasingly edgy administration, has come under fire for reporting the massive killings and devastation. But those criticizing the Nigerian media should endeavour to follow the international media’s reportage of the events in Baga to see that the local media is not just crying wolf.’’

According to the ACN, ‘’Nigeria would have been spared the global opprobrium resulting from the Baga tragedy, had the government and the military carried out a more diligent investigation of the incidents instead of acting in a defensive manner and trivializing the destruction wrought in Baga by saying most of the destroyed houses were made of thatched roofs anyway, as if it was a sin to live in such structures.’’

It however said that while the party will not however, conclude that all the destruction and the killings in Baga were carried out by soldiers, ‘’the truth is that the military, an embodiment of state power, bears more responsibility any time it is involved in a situation similar to that of Baga, or Odi and Zaki Biam before it.

’’There is no doubt that Boko Haram, with its scorched earth tactics, may have engaged in actions that put the lives of civilians in jeopardy in Baga, but these insurgents have no rules of engagement like the military, and definitely do not value human lives. Therefore, the military, in engaging the insurgents in built-up areas, must strictly adhere to its rules of engagement to avoid or minimize the death of innocent civilians or destruction of their property,’’ the party said.