The petition was addressed to the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria; the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); ambassadors of the Netherlands; Finland; Poland; the Federal Republic of Germany; France; Spain; Czech Republic; Italy; Belgium; Denmark; Portugal; Republic of Greece; Austria; Hungary; Bulgaria; Slovakia and Sweden.
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has petitioned 29 world leaders through their ambassadors and high commissioners to Nigeria, to seek their intervention to end mass killings and other crimes in Imo state.
The petition was addressed to the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria; the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); ambassadors of the Netherlands; Finland; Poland; the Federal Republic of Germany; France; Spain; Czech Republic; Italy; Belgium; Denmark; Portugal; Republic of Greece; Austria; Hungary; Bulgaria; Slovakia and Sweden.
Others are the High Commissioners of Britain, Canadian and Australia; ambassadors of the United States of America, Israel, Royal Norway, Ireland (High Commissioner), Switzerland, Brazil, Japan and South Korea.
According to Intersociety, the petition was delivered to the 29 world leaders between June 12 and 16, 2023 while a related letter dated June 13, 2023, was also sent to seven top UK government officials.
The UK government official include the UK Foreign Secretary/MP, James Cleverly; UK Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office/Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, who is a member of House of Commons; UK Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), Anne-Maria Trevelyan, and a member of House of Commons, David Rutley (MP for Macclesfield).
Others are the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and a member of the House of Commons, Leo Docherty; UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and a member of the House of Commons, David Patrick Paul Alton, the Lord Alton of Liverpool and member of House of Lords and Dame Caroline Anne Cox, the Baroness Cox of House of Lords.
Intersociety in a statement signed by its board chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi and other members of the board, stated that its leadership had in its joint letters called for an international visa ban and other legal, diplomatic and justice actions against Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and others indicted in its Special Research and Investigative Report on Imo.
“We also called for an end to butcheries and civilian house burnings in the State and apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators involved; be they armed state actors or armed non-state actors or indicted elected or appointed public office holders including drafted or national security chiefs; whether serving or former.
“It was further requested that the leading perpetrators listed in the Page 33 (last page) of the Special Research and Investigative Report and their immediate families should be placed on visa ban and stopped from entering the 30 internationally respected Democratic countries called upon including the UK, the US, the Canada and countries of the European Union; Brazil and Israel.
“The international travel bans and restrictions under our strong demand should affect participation and awards and other forms of international career, professional and private dealings or exchanges.
“Specifically, the present Government and Governor of Imo State, identified as having grossly omitted to act and aided and abetted and egregiously and grisly conspired in the mass atrocities should be targeted for necessary sanctions and international blacklisting,” part of the statement read.
Intersociety further appealed to the world leaders “on behalf of the persecuted Christians in Nigeria who have continued to be at the receiving end as targets and victims of egregious attacks and violence (‘industrial-scale’ crimes against persons/groups and their properties) by the country’s Islamic Jihadists and their protectors in the country’s seats of power in which the Government of Nigeria has severally been strongly accused of doing nothing or being inescapably complicit.
“This is to the extent over 2,300 defenseless Christians have been hacked to death by the Jihadists under the first six months of 2023 (Jan-June); over 31,000 slaughtered since June 2015 and 53,000 since the 2009 Boko Haram uprising; over 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools burned down or wantonly destroyed, 1000 Christian communities sacked, 50m Christians uprooted and 15m Christian IDPs generated; out of which Benue State accounts for more than 2.5m Christian IDPs alone.”