ICRC Explains Role in FG, Boko Haram Negotiations for Chibok Girls’ Release

•Says Nigeria accounts for 50% of missing persons in Africa

Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

Against speculations about its direct involvement in the negotiations between the federal government and Boko Haram terrorists for the release of Chobok girls, the International Committee of Red Cross Society (ICRC) has explained its level of involvement during the process.

The Head of Delegation, ICRC, Mr. Yann Bonzon, who spoke at a press conference organised by the Human Rights Commission to mark the International Day of the Disappeared (missing and kidnapped victims), said the ICRC was only involved in the provision of logistics support with other stakeholders of the international community.

Bonzon, who was asked by journalists why the ICRC stopped talks with the armed men on the release of kidnapped victims, said the ICRC only, “provided logistics support with other stakeholders as the negotiations were ongoing, which was part of its humanitarian mandates.

“I just want to say that ICRC has not been negotiating. ICRC provided as a humanitarian organisation with this particular mandate, neutrality, the logistical support when at that time negotiations were ongoing, with the authorities of Nigeria and abductors, for the release of those documents many years ago,” he explained.

Yann decried the continued rise of missing persons in Nigeria, especially in the north-east, where he said the ongoing conflict in the region continued to have “devastating impacts on the people of the country.”

He added: “Nigeria, unfortunately, has the largest number of missing persons ever registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Africa as more than 25,000 persons were reported missing to International Committee of the Red Cross and the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

“This includes more than 2000 cases that were registered after January 2021. The number of missing persons continue to rise every day. Yet, the ICRC notice that this figure represents a fraction of a wider undocumented humanitarian tragedy.

“More than half of the missing persons registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross the Nigerian Red Cross Society in north-east Nigeria were minors. At the time of disagreements.

“We need immediate action that matches the scale and urgency of this humanitarian tragedy,” he appealed, nothing that the ICRC would continue to support the Nigerian authorities, the Nigerian Red Cross and other agencies to prevent disappearance by encouraging and promoting international best practices.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, has disclosed that the SARS Panel established by the federal government to investigate human rights abuse during the #EndSARS protest achieved a great milestone, describing it as the most effective in the history of fight against human rights violation in the country.

He said: “I am sure you have heard about the SARS panel. That panel was established by the National Human Rights Commission in collaboration with the National Economic Council in all the states.

“They were targeted at taking care of issues of human rights violations, cases of disappeared persons, trying to deal with issues of police extortion, issues of extra judicial killing, issues of corruption and all kinds of human rights violation

“This is the biggest effort by Nigeria in the history of human rights violation. I have never seen a government set up panel in about 29 states looking into the issues of human rights violation it has never happened before. The Lagos State panel has paid compensations to victims of human rights.

“Last November, this Commission paid about N146 million to victims of human rights violations. In the next one month we are going to pay about N300 million to victims of human rights violation. This is a ground breaking effort which has never been done in this country before.

“With the coming on board of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Office with the ICRC, there are better days ahead in dealing with issues of human rights violation.”