Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has denied Amnesty International‘s allegations that 10,000 people died while in its care since the northeastern Boko Haram crisis started.
During a briefing in Maiduguri, Isa Sanusi, the country director of the international human rights organisation, accused the military and Boko Haram of several crimes.
While doing their duties in the area, he claimed, soldiers broke the rules of engagement.
He lamented that after receiving Amnesty’s report before its public release, the military denied that its members had committed atrocities.
Sanusi declared that a lawsuit on alleged crimes against humanity in the northeast had already been brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague by the human rights organisation.
Attacks against schools, educators, and students—including kidnappings—have been carried out in an effort to deny people, particularly children, access to what Boko Haram views as a “Western” education.
The Hausa translation of Boko Haram is often “Western education is forbidden.” According to the report, Boko Haram has committed war crimes and other grave breaches of international humanitarian law, such as murder, attacks on civilians and civilian property, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, torture, cruel treatment, conscription (including kidnappings), the use of child soldiers under the age of 15, and attacks on educational facilities.
Amnesty International has therefore determined that Boko Haram members should also be looked into for the crimes against humanity of murder, enslavement, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence, persecution, and forced marriage as “other inhumane acts” in a number of reports since 2015.
The article claims that the Nigerian military has frequently viewed everyone entering or leaving Boko Haram-controlled regions as, at the very least, a suspected member of the armed group in reaction to the military crimes in its operations against it.
According to Amnesty International, “government forces have committed war crimes such as deliberate attacks against civilians, indiscriminate attacks that have killed or injured civilians, and extrajudicial executions, which also qualify as murder, torture, cruel treatment, rape, and sexual violence.
“Furthermore, after concluding in a 2015 report that the Nigerian military likely had a policy to attack a civilian population and had done so in a widespread and systematic manner, Amnesty International believes that members of the Nigerian military may have committed crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, imprisonment, torture, rape, enforced disappearance, and gender-based persecution.
“In military detention, at least 10,000 people have lost their lives since the insurgency in northeastern Nigeria started.”
In response, the Defence Headquarters said that Amnesty’s accusations were “spurious, shocking, and lacking in merit” in a statement released on Friday by Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations.
Additionally, the organisation was requested to visit its office in order to support its claims.
“Some false claims made by Amnesty International during a news conference on December 5th, 24 have caught the notice of Defence Headquarters. Among other false claims, it was claimed that more than 10,000 civilians had perished in Nigerian military detention facilities since the start of the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeastern part of the country.
“Amnesty International’s statements are viewed by the military as shocking, unfounded, and naughty, especially given that they come at the end of the counterterrorism war in the Northeast.”The Armed Forces must correct the record, even if they are unwilling to join Amnesty International in speaking out. As a professional force, the Nigerian military operates by both the laws of armed conflicts and international humanitarian law. Troops have meticulously adhered to the rules of engagement to significantly prevent civilian casualties in any way, despite the operations environment being complicated.
“Suspects are profiled after an arrest is made, and they are then turned over to the relevant agency for either release or prosecution.”Standing court martials are in place in the operational theatres to ensure that any negligent personnel receive punishment right away and to discourage unethical behaviour. Overall, it is important to restate that the military, under the capable direction of General Christopher Musa, the CDS, continues to conduct itself professionally in fulfilling its constitutional duties following international best practices.
“In general, the military extends an invitation to Amnesty International to verify the specifics of the accusations.” The military will be able to investigate and ascertain whether or not the accusations made are credible.”
