On the 27th of May, 1967, General Yakubu Gowon promulgated decree number 14 which created 12 states (six in the north and six in the south) out of the former four regions in Nigeria. Governor of the Eastern Region, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, saw this creation of states (without consultation) as a breach of the 1967 Aburi Accord…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
This rubbed salt to the political and ethnic wounds the country has been nursing long before independence. Following the creation of states, Col. Ojukwu considered the seven-point resolution of the Eastern Assembly and the Advising Committee of Chiefs and Elders which mandated him to declare the secession of the Eastern Region from the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Eventually, on the 30th of May, 1967, Col. Ojukwu declared the independent Republic of Biafra and this immediately set the stage for war, the Nigerian civil war.
Nigerian troops at Asaba in 1967
How The Asaba Massacre Happened
It was during the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran war, that the Asaba massacre was perpetrated. This was from the 5th to 7th of October 1967.
In August 1967, two months before the Asaba massacre, a division of the seceded Eastern Region (Biafra) army led by Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Banjo occupied Benin in the Midwestern Region of Nigeria.
The Biafran army (also called Liberation Army) wanted to use Benin as a launching ground for the invasion of Ibadan and Lagos but unfortunately for them, the proposed invasion failed due to reasons connected to the newly promoted Lieutenant Banjo. Lieutenant Banjo wanted to secure Benin in good hands before proceeding to Ibadan so he would not be suddenly cut off from Biafra. (Ademoyega 1981)
Lieutenant Victor Banjo
Banjo’s failure gave the Federal (Nigerian) troops an opportunity to recapture Benin and drive Biafran army out. They chased the Biafran army into Asaba and then into Onitsha. After the Biafran army crossed into Onitsha, they blew up a part of the Onitsha bridge making it impossible for the Federal troops to continue the chase. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
It was at this point that the people of Asaba met their ill fate. The Nigerian army second division led by Col. Murtala Muhammed turned back to Asaba and killed many people, ransacked their houses and perpetrated other war crimes on the claim that the victims were Biafran sympathizers. This happened on the 5th of October, 1967.
Map showing the movement of the Nigerian and Biafran troops
Knowing things could go worse, on the 7th of October, two days after the federal troops arrived in Asaba, the people of Asaba organized a dance to show their support for One Nigeria. Men and women, boys and girls all danced in their Akwa Ocha (white) attire and repeatedly showed the intention of the dance.
Unfortunately, the federal troops turned the dance into a bloody one. They separated men from women and killed the men. Many sources have it that the troops led by Col. Murtala Muhammed and Col. Ibrahim Taiwo oversaw the aspect of adult male killings.
Mural depicting the Asaba massacre. October 7, 1967 | Cheta Nwanze
Asaba stank with blood and dead bodies which were later pilled up and buried in a mass grave. None of the dead could be given a proper burial with necessary funeral rites. Up to 1000 people lost their lives in the Asaba massacre. A source claimed that younger girls were raped and the recalcitrant ones were shot dead.
A video which documented the Asaba Massacre of 1967 showed one of the lucky survivors, Patience Chukwura who was then a young mother pregnant with her fourth child as she narrated how her husband, Eddie, was killed. Her father-in-law and two brothers-in-law were also murdered in cold blood.
Many citizens of Asaba fled their homes and did not return until the Nigerian civil war ended in 1970. Below is a video documenting the Asaba massacre by S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser Ottanelli in 2013. In this video, witnesses of the Asaba massacre recounted their horrible experiences and losses
After their infamous plot to destroy parliament was foiled, Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators received one of the most severe judicial sentences in English history: hanging, drawing and quartering. According to the Treason Act 1351 , this punishment involved…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
Author
Michelle SpearProfessor of Anatomy, University of Bristol
That you be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, where you shall be hanged by the neck and being alive cut down, your privy members shall be cut off and your bowels taken out and burned before you, your head severed from your body and your body divided into four quarters to be disposed of at the King’s pleasure.
This process aimed not only to inflict excruciating pain on the condemned, but to serve as a deterrent – demonstrating the fate of those who betrayed the Crown. While Fawkes reportedly jumped from the gallows – which meant he avoided the full extent of his punishment – his co-conspirators apparently weren’t so lucky.
By dissecting each stage of this medieval punishment from an anatomical perspective, we can understand the profound agony each of them endured.
Torture for confession
Before his public execution on January 31 1606, Fawkes was tortured to force a confession about his involvement in the “gunpowder plot”.
The Tower of London records confirm that King James I personally authorised “the gentler tortures first”. Accounts reveal that Fawkes was stretched on the rack – a device designed to slowly pull the limbs in opposite directions. This stretching inflicted severe trauma on the shoulders, elbows and hips, as well as the spine.
The forces exerted by the rack probably exceeded those required for joint or hip dislocation under normal conditions.
Substantive differences between Fawkes’ signatures on confessions between November 8 and shortly before his execution may indicate the amount of nerve and soft tissue damage sustained. It also illustrates how remarkable his final leap from the gallows was.
Stage 1: hanging (partial strangulation)
After surviving the torture of the rack, Fawkes and his gang faced the next stage of their punishment: hanging. But this form of hanging only partially strangled the condemned – preserving their consciousness and prolonging their suffering.
Partial strangulation exerts extreme pressure on several critical neck structures. The hyoid bone , a small u-shaped structure above the larynx, is prone to bruising or fracture under compression .
Simultaneously, pressure on the carotid arteries restricts blood flow to the brain, while compression of the jugular veins causes pooling of blood in the head – probably resulting in visible haemorrhages in the eyes and face.
Because the larynx and trachea (both essential for airflow) are partially obstructed, this makes breathing laboured. Strain on the cervical spine and surrounding muscles in the neck can lead to tearing, muscle spasms or dislocation of the vertebra – causing severe pain. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Fawkes brought his agony to a premature end by leaping from the gallows. Accounts from the time tell us:
His body being weak with the torture and sickness, he was scarce able to go up the ladder – yet with much ado, by the help of the hangman, went high enough to break his neck by the fall.
This probably caused him to suffer a bilateral fracture of his second cervical vertebra, assisted by his own bodyweight – an injury known as the “hangman’s fracture” .
Stage 2: Drawing (disembowelment)
After enduring partial hanging, the victim would then be “drawn” – a process which involved disembowelling them while still alive. This act mainly targeted the organs of the abdominal cavity – including the intestines, liver and kidney, as well as major blood vessels such as the abdominal aorta.
The physiological response to disembowelment would have been immediate and severe. The abdominal cavity possesses a high concentration of pain receptors – particularly around the membranous lining of the abdomen . When punctured, these pain receptors would have sent intense pain signals to the brain, overwhelming the body’s capacity for pain management . Shock would soon follow due to the rapid drop in blood pressure caused by massive amounts of blood loss.
Stage 3: quartering (dismemberment)
Quartering was also supposed to be performed while the victim was still alive. Though no accounts exist detailing at what phase victims typically lost consciousness during execution, it’s highly unlikely many survived the shock of being drawn.
So, at this stage, publicity superseded punishment given the victim’s likely earlier demise. Limbs that were removed from criminals were preserved by boiling them with spices. These were then toured around the country to act as a deterrent for others.
Though accounts suggest Fawkes’s body parts were sent to “the four corners of the United Kingdom”, there is no specific record of what was sent where. However, his head was displayed in London .
Traitor’s punishment
The punishment of hanging, drawing and quartering was designed to be as anatomically devastating as it was psychologically terrifying. Each stage of the process exploited the vulnerabilities of the human body to create maximum pain and suffering, while also serving as a grim reminder of the consequences of treason.
This punishment also gives us an insight into how medieval justice systems used the body as a canvas for social and political messaging. Fawkes’s fate, though unimaginable today, exemplifies the extremes to which the state could, and would, go to maintain control, power and authority over its subjects.
The sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering was officially removed from English law as part of the Forfeiture Act of 1870 .
There are many unusual things happening across the world. Children are charming and lovely, yet others are really dangerous and have been involved in a variety of illegal activities in society.
Joshua Phillips stabbed his neighbor’s eight-year-old daughter and put the girl’s body under his bed at home. After eight days, his mother discovered the body.
Joshua Phillips was fourteen years old when he committed this act, according to reports, and he was sentenced to life in jail.
Take a look at how Joshua Phillips is now.
2. Eric Smith:
Eric Smith, according to sources, was condemned to life in jail many years ago. Eric Smith was just 13 years old when he hit a 4-year-old boy with a rock and killed him.
Following multiple conversations with Eric, he stated that he was bullied by several senior kids at his school and that he killed the youngster because he was irritated and upset. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
3. Lionel Tate:
Lionel Tate was one of the youngest people to get a life sentence.
According to sources, when he was 13 years old, Lionel Tate killed his neighbor’s six-year-old daughter.
Lionel Tate claimed he was boxing with the young girl.
4. Brian Lee Draper:
Brian Lee Draper was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for murdering a classmate, according to reports.
The murder was committed by Brian Lee Draper and his friend Torey Adamcik, who was sixteen years old at the time.
Parents should always endeavor to teach their children how to be good children, as well as pray for them.
A woman named Stella Namwanje was arrested in Uganda for allegedly committing an atrocious act against her neighbor’s baby. Reports indicate that she was caught on video defecating and urinating on the infant before feeding him the waste. This shocking behavior has drawn widespread condemnation and raised serious concerns about the child’s welfare…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
The incident took place in the Binyonyi A area of the Nyendo-Mukungwe division. Local authorities acted swiftly after the disturbing footage circulated on social media, prompting community outrage. The police have since taken Namwanje into custody to investigate the circumstances surrounding her actions and ensure the safety of the child.
The case has sparked discussions about the need for stronger measures to protect vulnerable individuals, especially children, from abuse. It highlights the alarming reality of child torture and the psychological issues that may drive such behavior. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
As the investigation unfolds, the community is rallying to support the affected family and prevent similar incidents in the future. The legal proceedings against Namwanje will likely focus on the extent of her actions and the necessary repercussions for such a heinous crime.