Nigerian Army Uses Trump’s Words to Justify Fatal Shooting of Rock-Throwing Protesters

[Mockingbird]

Quote

 

DAKAR, Senegal — The Nigerian Army, part of a military criticized for rampant human rights abuses, on Friday used the words of President Trump to justify its fatal shootings of rock-throwing protesters.

 

Soldiers opened fire this past Monday on a march of about 1,000 Islamic Shia activists who had been blocking traffic in the capital, Abuja. Videos circulated on social media showed several protesters hurling rocks at the heavily armed soldiers who then shot fleeing protesters in the back.

 

The Nigerian military said three protesters were killed but the toll appears to have been much higher.

 

Amnesty International as well as leaders of the protest said more than 40 people were killed at the march and two other smaller marches, with more than 100 wounded by bullets. A Reuters reporter counted 20 bodies at the main march.

 

Human rights activists and many ordinary citizens were outraged at the military’s response, which echoed a similar confrontation in 2015, when soldiers killed nearly 350 protesters from the same group, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, the largest and most recognizable face of Shia Islam in the country. The group organizes frequent protest marches.

 

Early Friday morning, the military responded to the criticism.

 

The Army’s official Twitter account posted a video, “Please Watch and Make Your Deductions,” showing Mr. Trump’s anti-migrant speech on Thursday in which he said rocks would be considered firearms if thrown toward the American military at the nation’s borders.

 

 

“We’re not going to put up with that,” Mr. Trump said in the clip. “They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back.”

 

In Nigeria, Mr. Trump is a popular figure among many people who praise what they regard as his straightforwardness and frank talk despite his reported insult to the nation last year when he said Nigerians in the United States would never “go back to their huts” in Africa.

 

Mr. Trump also referred to unspecified African countries as “###### countries.”

 

Earlier this year after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, during which Mr. Trump praised the Nigerian leader’s fight against the Islamic State in West Africa, he said he never again wanted to meet someone so lifeless as Mr. Buhari, the Financial Times reported.

 

[...]

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/world/africa/nigeria-trump-rocks.html

 

[Buttus]

how did they justify it back in 2015?

[PGHammer]

1 hour ago, Buttus said:

how did they justify it back in 2015?

Pre-frigging-CISELY, Buttus.  Never mind that there is a HISTORY of violent protestation responses in ALL of Africa (from northern to southern); the beating up of Trump in this case is because folks will buy it (especially the anti-American crowd).

[Emn1ty]

Yep, we blame our own actions on someone else's words. Looks like classic misdirection, hoping for people to latch on to "Look what happens when Trump says something stupid!" rather than realizing that the Nigerian Army should be able to think for themselves on these matters (and be responsible for their own actions).

[FloatingFatMan]

12 hours ago, Emn1ty said:

Yep, we blame our own actions on someone else's words. Looks like classic misdirection, hoping for people to latch on to "Look what happens when Trump says something stupid!" rather than realizing that the Nigerian Army should be able to think for themselves on these matters (and be responsible for their own actions).

What makes you think Trump is any smarter than these imbeciles?  I'm now expecting Trump to try to use this as an excuse to justify the army firing on stone throwers.  "They actually did it, so we can too!"

 

[wakjak]

34 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

What makes you think Trump is any smarter than these imbeciles?  I'm now expecting Trump to try to use this as an excuse to justify the army firing on stone throwers.  "They actually did it, so we can too!"

 

Thankfully the army have many smarter generals in command than Trump. They would in no way allow such a command to be executed. It would be against the law, via US v Keenan. And posse comitatus. 

[FloatingFatMan]

28 minutes ago, wakjak said:

Thankfully the army have many smarter generals in command than Trump. They would in no way allow such a command to be executed. It would be against the law, via US v Keenan. And posse comitatus. 

I know that, you know that, the army generals know that.  Trump. on the other hand, either doesn't know that, or doesn't actually care and thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants.