Adamawa Group Claims Soldiers Fatally Shot Women Protesting in Lamurde, Calls for Justice

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Statement from PDBDA
• Incident Reports
• Demands for Justice

The Pene Da Bwatiye Development Association (PDBDA), an organization representing the Bwatiye-speaking community in Adamawa State, has asserted that soldiers killed women from their ethnic group during a protest in Lamurde on Sunday, December 7.

“The blood of our innocent people—our mothers, daughters, and sisters—has been shed, and we will not be silenced,” the group declared in a press statement released on Tuesday.

Reports surfaced on Monday, December 8, indicating that soldiers from the 23 Brigade of the Nigerian Army opened fire on women protesting the delayed arrival of security forces during a bandit attack on Bwatiye communities.

While the reports claimed that seven women lost their lives, the 23 Brigade issued a denial on Tuesday morning, rejecting any involvement of its soldiers in the killings in Lamurde.

In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Pwakavi Bapatu, the Pene Da Bwatiye Development Association maintained that the soldiers indeed shot at the women, asserting that twelve women had died.

“Twelve unarmed women who gathered for a peaceful protest against the delayed military response, carrying only leaves and singing songs of peace, were slaughtered by members of the Nigerian Army sent to maintain order,” the association stated.

The group demanded the immediate identification, suspension, and public prosecution of every soldier involved in this atrocious act, as well as formal apologies and prompt, comprehensive reparations from the Nigerian Army and the Federal Government to the families of “the twelve murdered women.”

Eze Chidiebere Paul

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