DHQ to Amnesty International: Substantiate Your Civilian Torture Allegation
Linus Aleke in Abuja
The Defence Headquarters yesterday called on Amnesty International to substantiate its allegations against the Nigerian military.
The DHQ also said substantial evidence from the Amnesty International would enable the military to conduct an inquiry to determine the authenticity or otherwise of the spurious allegations.
Amnesty International had on Thursday alleged that over 10,000 people died in military custody since the onset of the Boko Haram insurgency in North-east Nigeria.
Country Director, Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, who made this allegation while addressing a press conference in Abuja, had also revealed that the organisation had filed a case with the International Court of Justice in The Hague, alleging crimes against humanity in the region.
Reacting to what it described as a spurious allegation, the Director Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen Edward Buba, in a statement yesterday, stated that the armed forces viewed the pronouncements by Amnesty International as shocking, lacking in merit as well as mischievous, particularly as it is coming at this ending cycle stage of the counter terrorism war in the North-east.
He said: “The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to some spurious allegations made by Amnesty International during a press conference held on 5 Dec 24.
“It was alleged that, since the onset of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East of Nigeria (NE) over ten thousand civilians died in Nigerian Military detention facilities among other spurious allegations.
“Though the Armed Forces is not willing to join words with Amnesty International, it is of utmost necessity to set the records straight.
“The Nigerian military is a professional forces which conducts its operations within the dictates of international humanitarian law and the laws of armed conflicts”.
He said that though the operational environment has been complex and challenging, troop have painstakingly abide by the rules of engagement to extensively avoided civilian casualties in whatever shape or form.
“Additionally, whenever arrest are made, suspects are profiled, after which the suspects are handed over to the appropriate agency for release or prosecution.
“As a deterrence to unethical conducts, there are standing court martials within the operational theatres to ensure justice is immediately administered to any erring personnel during operations,” he said.
The Chief of Defence Staff Gen Christopher Musa reaffirmed that the armed forces under his leadership will remain professional in carrying out its constitutional mandates in line with global best practices.
