Nigeria Army and Amnesty International’s sabre rattling

In a wintry night somewhere in Edo State, a man and his wife were fast asleep in their home when their privacy was breached. An armed young man by name Thankgod Ebos, a member of the underworld, had come visiting uninvited, and his intention was anything but noble. After inducing so much fear in the innocent couple, Ebos succeeded in robbing them of their belongings. But he did not stop at that. The armed robber also callously raped the wife in the presence of her husband. Then he did something unthinkable: He inserted a broken bottle into the woman’s private part and stayed there enjoying the deep pain the hapless woman was going through, until she bled to death.

About the same time, on yet another fateful night, another armed robber violated another house where he killed his victim and dismembered the body into different parts and callously buried the different parts at different locations.

But when these hardened criminals and two others were executed in Benin City on June 24, 2013, Amnesty International raised so much dust that it took then Governor Adams Oshiomhole, a man literally made of steel, to absorb the hype. Many Nigerians were flabbergasted and wondered whether the Amnesty International officials would have acted in the same manner if those victims were their family members.

Penultimate week, Amnesty was at it again. This time, they are accusing the Nigerian military of killing many arrested Boko Haram members, as well as some pro-Biafran agitators in the country’s South-East. Ironically, this was coming at a time the Nigerian military is receiving plaudits from the United Nations, the American military, as well as countless individuals and groups from different corners of the globe. It also came at a time the military has recorded unprecedented achievements, especially in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists. If any commentary were to be passed on the Nigerian military most Nigerians reasoned - it will be positive and about commendation, and certainly not condemnation.

But the Amnesty report failed the first test on the imperative of mastering the art of timing. For us as Nigerians, many of who are direct victims of Boko Haram’s heartless terrorism, the report is at best an unethical exercise open to interpretation as supportive of lawlessness and callousness.

One is not least surprised therefore, that the Amnesty International report has continued to generate negative reactions and condemnation from different people and institutions of goodwill, including very credible civil society and human rights organisations, such as the respected Global Amnesty Watch, which minced no word in categorically and rightfully calling the Amnesty International Report as yet another attempt to undermine the Nigerian state.

Another credible group, the Africa Arise for Change Network, accused Amnesty International of trying to plant seeds of discord in the Nigerian military, and cause a reversal of the unprecedented gains made in the war against terror. The group passed an unequivocal vote of confidence in the Nigerian military and asked Nigerians to openly support the Army rid Nigeria of all traces of terrorism, of whatever shade.

On November 17 last year, the United Nations Organisation openly commended the Nigerian Army for being professional in the handling of Boko Haram insurgency and maintaining international best practices, particularly in adherence to all codes of conduct, as enshrined in the Rules of Engagement.

Also, the Civil-Military Advisor of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) particularly commended the Nigerian Army when he paid a courtesy call on the General Officer Commanding the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri.

The Commander of Africom, a general of the American Army, also commended the Nigerian Army and called for sharing of intelligence. Until about two years ago, the American Armed Forces didn’t want anything to do with its Nigerian counterpart, largely because of human rights abuses. Now, things have generally changed, so much that when US President Donald Trump called his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari last month, he commended the government’s achievement in the war against terror and offered bigger assistance to the Nigerian military. If these people or the institutions they represent believe the Amnesty report, they will not touch the Nigerian Military even with a ten-foot pole.

There is a reason for these commendations: The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai has shortly after his appointment as the Number One Soldier, set up a Human Rights Desk not only at the Army Headquarters, but also in all the divisions of the Army all over Nigeria. Courtesy of this unprecedented move, soldiers are becoming friendlier to civilians, with Nigeria as the biggest beneficiary, since this relationship is encouraging civilian participation in information gathering about terrorists. Civilians now confidently report findings to the Army.

It was courtesy of that laudable initiative that Bature Samuel and one Abdulaziz, both of them corporals in the Nigerian Army, were demoted and imprisoned for assaulting a physically challenged man, Chijioke Oratu, in Onitsha, recently. Similarly, another soldier by the name Suleiman Olamilekun, a private with 6 Division Garrison, Port Harcourt, was also imprisoned for molesting a woman.

Until Buratai came up with this idea of ensuring the dignity of all human beings, particularly the civilian population, it was commonplace to see or hear of soldiers molesting and even dehumanising civilians, thereby making the society look at the military as an institution that thrived in wickedness. It was largely because of this kind of perception that at the initial stage, and for long stretches, Boko Haram thrived, as many civilians in the North-East would rather cooperate with them than the military.

As of July 2015, Boko Haram had IED producing factories in many parts of Borno and Yobe states. The terrorists also had a free reign from Sambisa up to Dikwa and Marte, and then to Lake Chad waters and the Baga general area.. Almost half of Borno and large swathes of Yobe and Adamawa were under the evil control of Boko Haram.

In a video recently released by the Hausa Service of the Voice of America, Boko Haram kingpins can be seen discharging jungle justice on their hapless victims, raping women, including married ones, at will, and cutting their hands, legs and killing them in cold blood, under the slightest and most ridiculous pretext.

Now all that is history, as the Army has chased the terrorists away and the people, displaced in their millions, are regaining their much-cherished freedom. It is only natural that these people will pour invectives on Amnesty International for producing a report that can at best be described as a tale by the moonlight. To these people, the best thing that has ever happened to them is the Buhari Administration that has given the military worthy commanders and the wherewithal to fight and win the roller-coaster war against terror.

As the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar said recently, “it is curious that a body that has never been able to seriously condemn terror in Nigeria now claims to have done an extensive research with the aim of discrediting the nation’s efforts at curtailing terror.”

Amnesty International is undoubtedly a very credible institution. But that is even all the more reason why it needs to ensure that some of its officials are not being influenced by desperate politicians who see no danger in using fifth-columnists to attempt to politicise the Nigerian military, even if that can never be achieved, as it has now been thoroughly professionalised and ably discharging the role carved out for it by the Nigerian constitution. Gaya wrote this piece from Abuja.