TEXAS, USA – Wives of deceased members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, have filed a lawsuit against Chief Willie Obiano, the former Governor of Anambra State, before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
They are seeking damages for the alleged extrajudicial killing of their husbands by Nigerian military forces purportedly under Obiano’s command.
The plaintiffs’ legal representative, Bruce Fein, who is also the US-based attorney for detained IPOB Leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, filed the case under the Torture Victim Protection Act.
He asserted that the US court has jurisdiction because the case was lodged under US law and Obiano currently resides in Texas.
According to court documents cited by The Trent on Friday, June 9, 2023, Obiano, during his tenure as Governor of Anambra State, held command responsibility and effective control over Nigerian soldiers implicated in the extrajudicial killings.
One such case involved John Doe No 1, who, while attending an IPOB rally in Nnewi, Anambra State on October 23, 2020, was reportedly shot dead by Nigerian military forces under Obiano’s command.
The lawsuit claims, “About seven truckloads of heavily armed Nigerian military men stormed the market square and began indiscriminately shooting at IPOB demonstrators, killing at least 13 including John Doe No 1.” It adds that the Nigerian government has declined to investigate the killings.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages for five counts, as well as attorney’s fees. The amounts will be determined at trial.
