Army, Amnesty Stick to Their Guns
Report’ll Shore Up Terrorists, Weaken Military – Army Go to Court If You Feel Undermined – Amnesty
158 suspected terrorists and 150 are being prosecuted.
He also disclosed that the Inspector-General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team had arrested 123 and is prosecuting 121 suspected terrorists.
“You can now see that the alleged government inaction is not true. I think Amnesty International should update its report to reflect the present reality, which is that the killings from the herders-farmers clashes have reduced. This is because of the concerted efforts by the Federal Government and the fact that perpetrators of the killings are being brought to justice,’’ he stated.
He said the achievements did not happen by accident, but by concerted and determined efforts by the Buhari Administration. You got your facts wrong – Presidency The latest report, according to AI, was based on 262 interviews with victims, eyewitnesses, community leaders, medical practitioners, religious leaders and government officials, including members of the security forces.
Researchers also analysed 230 documents, including medical records and reports by the security forces.
But the presidency, in its second response in a week, faulted the report, saying AI got some of its facts wrong.
“The report has raised our concerns about the validity of their evidence gathering. It is like knowing the facts but drawing the wrong conclusions.” “It is not correct to state in any way that the problem between farmers and herders is a new thing over the last three years. It has been happening for over 100 years. Colonial powers, Britain and France, had regularly recorded these conflicts, which are available in archives.
“It is equally untrue that government has done nothing. Alleged human rights abuses have been investigated. Clashes have been reduced through government’s actions,’’Shehu said in the statement on Thursday
He said the progress recorded was due to the strong determination of the administration to punish rights violators, no matter who they are, including the military, through orderly room trial, court martial and the regular courts. Endless altercations This is not the first time the Nigerian military and the human rights organisation have been exchanging altercations. In October 2018, Amnesty International accused the security forces of using excessive force on the Shii’te group during their procession in Abuja. At least 45 members were killed and many injured during two days of violent crackdowns on protesters who were demanding the release of their leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, jailed since 2015.
The director of AI Nigeria, Ojigho, said in a statement that the organisation had evidence that the military used live firearms during the protests.
But the Nigerian Army denied the reports, saying personnel responded with “proportionate force.”
John Agim, a spokesperson for the Defence Headquarters, said Amnesty’s account of the incident was worrisome and could have adverse consequences on national security and cohesion of Nigeria.
Also, on May 24, 2018, Amnesty International accused Nigerian security forces of raping thousands of women and girls who fled Boko Haram.
In a report titled, They Betrayed Us, the global human rights group reported that troops separated women from their husbands and raped them, sometimes in exchange for food, in refugee camps.
Nigeria’s military dismissed the allegations as malicious and false. “These false reports, which are capable of derailing the good work being done by our patriotic and selfless soldiers, must stop,” the military said in a statement.
The Amnesty International stated in its 2017/2018 human rights report that the Nigerian Army carried out “extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and torture and other ill-treatment, which, in some cases, led to deaths in custody.”
In February 2017, the Nigerian military accused Amnesty International of fabricating its report about extrajudicial killings and torture of 240 people in the North-East and 177 pro-Biafran agitators.
The organisation’s reports stated that 240 people, including infants, died in a dreaded military detention centre in Borno in 2016, while 177 pro-Biafran agitators were extrajudicially killed in the same year.
The then acting Director of Defence Information, Brig-Gen Rabe Abubakar, in a statement, described the report as a continuation of Amnesty’s “series of spurious fabrications aimed at tarnishing the good image of the Nigerian military.”
Army, Amnesty clash will worsen security challenges – Experts
Security experts have waded into the verbal war by Nigeria authorities, including political leaders and the military in the aftermath of the recent report by the AI.
A retired military officer, Salihu Bakari, said Nigerian authorities were in a tight corner, and advised that instead of engaging the AI in needless debate, those concerned should address genuine observations and act accordingly.
He said the AI shared its report with the international community on different countries facing different challenges, and that fighting the group would only worsen the plight of any country that was accused of violations.
“Silence by Nigeria is acceptance of guilt; acknowledging the report is also acceptance of guilt.
“All the contents of the reports are facts which seriously indict the military and political leadership of the country. These have serious consequences to the country, military and political leaders. This could affect Nigeria’s successes in fight against crimes,” Bakari said.
“The International Criminal Court (ICC) could pick up and initiate further investigation with a view to indicting individuals and charging them to court. The international community (USA) could sanction individuals.
“Embargo could be placed on arms sales to the country and other privileges denied. The arms sales embargo on Nigeria by the USA was a result of human rights abuses allegations against the Nigerian military in Odi and Benue,” he said.
He said in military parlance, the response by the military was the right thing to do.
“It’s the best option at the moment because the report is already out. They just have to challenge the report. Silence or acceptance is inimical to them.
“Past allegations and embargos have not been cleared, and now, new ones. The little support we got from the USA was as a result of international cry for the crises in the North-East, especially the Chibok and Dapchi girls,” he said.
On allegations that the AI was simply blackmailing Nigeria, he said, “It is not blackmail; they are saying it as it is. They have no reason to blackmail. They are doing what they were established to do - exposing human rights abuses and identifying the perpetrators in such acts for actions to be taken(either locally, internationally or both).
“Most of the local AI members are Nigerians. They have no reason to be against the government or individuals. They have facts, figures, documents and dates of everything,” he said.
Another officer, who left the military service some years ago but does not want his name mentioned, said, “During our time, we related intimately with the AI. We got their reports before time and acted promptly. Their target is for actions and remedy. But now, the military, especially the Army, think they can do and undo.’’
Advising on the way forward, he said, “The military should have direct liaison with AI and others. It should treat all correspondences from AI and others with military urgency.
“The military should be taking actions on allegations of abuses and publicising same. Imagine how the military set up panel to investigate issues of rights abuses against it, now almost a year of submitting the report, nothing public is out,” he said.
On his part, Dr. Amaechi Nwokolo, an international terrorism and development consultant, described as absurd, the altercation between the Nigerian authorities and AI.
In an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, Dr Nwokolo, however, urged the AI to exercise caution in dealing with the Nigerian government.
He said, “It sounds very absurd that our military will be exchanging or joining issues with AI. What I expect from the military is pure professionalism and to continue to focus on what they are doing.
“Again, AI must also be very careful. They are dealing with government, whereas the international community is asking our government to use the military to quell terrorism.
“There is no way we will not have these mistakes and incidences, but our military should tread with caution. The more they are joining issues with AI, the more they paint the Nigerian security forces and the country in a bad light in the international community.”
He, therefore, urged the military to be in constant communication with the Nigerian public.
“I don’t think Amnesty should be the one telling us what has happened and what did not happen. It behoves on the Nigerian authorities to tell the people what is going on and not waiting for reports from international organisations and start dismissing them. They have to be proactive at all times,” he said.
Cautioning the government against banning Amnesty, he said, “We are in a democratic dispensation. Over 90 per cent of countries around the world are practising democracy. If we dare carry out such an act, the world will come after us.”
A lawyer with interest in human rights violations, Musa Ali, said Amnesty report was far off the mark.
“Nigeria as a country is very poor in record keeping, and this is why no one can tell you the casualty figure through suicide bombers, Boko Haram terrorists, own troops killed, missing in action and wounded in action,” he said. CSOs back AI over faceoff with military The chairman, Board of AI Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani said, “The military threat to shut down AI Nigeria or any human right organisation operating in Nigeria is not the solution to the negligence or failure on the untimely response to the issue of human rights and providing security for Nigeria.
“Amnesty is not engaging in sabotage, but to help in ending the violence in the country. We would advise the military to look at the recommendations we have made to the government and address them.”
The Amnesty International Nigeria has said that its recent report on human rights violations in Nigeria was based on facts that every Nigerian was already aware of, noting that it stands by the report.
Amnesty said that even the Nigerian government itself had admitted that there were serious human rights violations in the country and constituted a committee to look at that, but that it failed to take action on the panel’s report, which it received since February.
Rafsanjani told Daily Trust on Sunday in a telephone interview that it appeared some people in government were benefiting financially from the insecurity in the country; hence they would not want it to stop.
The executive director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
further said the Nigerian government had not been sincere on how its citizens are killed on a daily basis.
“It is unfortunate that some people in government are calling this obvious insecurity and violence as a false alarm. Amnesty International (Nigeria) and other non-governmental organisations are monitoring and documenting these human rights abuses. Every Nigerian knows that things are not okay. There’s a lot of ethic, communal and political violence going on in Nigeria.
“For any person to come and say that it’s a false alarm, I think he is an enemy of Nigeria. He doesn’t want Nigerians to have peaceful atmosphere. It is because their family members are not victims of this violence, that’s why they can dismiss that there are no violence and human rights abuses in Nigeria.
“If their family members were involved, they won’t be making this kind of careless talk. We want to call the attention of the people in authority to remember that this human right is for everybody. Look at the case of former Chief of Defence Staff.
“When he was in the position, they were also having the same kind of response, dismissing human rights organisations. But look at the way he ended up being killed. So, it’s important when you are in government to make sure that you do everything possible to ensure that Nigerians are protected.
“If you look at the kind of funds going into the issue of security in government at all levels, you begin to wonder why we still have insecurity? So, we have noted that it is like some people don’t want peace in Nigeria because once there’s no violence, there won’t be justification for siphoning public funds in the name of security votes. So, some people deliberately want this violence to continue, that’s why they are not doing anything to stop it,’’ Rafsanjani said.
Rafsanjani noted that they were vindicated by the killings that took place about 48 hours after the release of the report, saying 25 people were reportedly killed in Zamfara State and a former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, was also killed thereafter.
“What Amnesty International, Nigeria has always been saying is that government must take its responsibilities and obligations seriously in terms of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians as enshrined in the constitution.
“We have been trying to draw the attention of the authorities to the continuous gross violations of the fundamental human rights in Nigeria.
“Even government itself has acknowledged the problem of violent violations of human rights, but what is weighing us down is that every time you try to bring this issue to the attention of government, because of the fact that those people who, in the corridors of power, are not victims of this violence, are quick to dismiss these problems that Nigerians are facing on a regular basis.
“Anybody who lives in Nigeria knows that the level of violence and insecurity in different parts of the country is something that any serious government must rise up to ensure that it prevents.
“Each time Amnesty International or any other organisation asks government to take proactive measures, instead of them to look at it, the people in government and the security agencies look the other way.
“One of the issues we want the government to address is that the National Human Rights Commission as a government agency has no board, up till date. It has no political leadership that will deal with the issue of human rights abuses in Nigeria. We want them to address that.”
Thirty-five Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in NIgeria urged the Federal Government to stop the incessant attacks on human rights and humanitarian organisations in the country.
“We as stakeholders in the human rights community in Nigeria are concerned about the incessant attacks and criticisms of human rights and humanitarian organisations by the Nigerian Government and its security agencies, in particular, the Nigerian military and security services.
“The latest of such attacks has been the announcement of the ban of UNICEF, later rescinded, and the call to close the Nigerian office of AI, which has become a regular object of attack by the Nigerian military and security services for doing its work of exposing human rights violations.
“We totally condemn threats and intimidation of UNICEF and AI Nigeria by the Nigerian military and security services, especially as the Presidency has joined in the fray. That these threats are always issued against AI Nigeria whenever it issues a report detailing credible allegations of human rights violations in Nigeria shows that the attacks are aimed at gagging the organisation, undermining credible human rights reporting and covering up systemic violations of human rights,” the jointly signed statement read.