The Nigerian military as well as security experts have condemned
recent Amnesty International report accusing the nation’s armed forces
of extra-judicial killings in the fight against the Boko Haram
insurgents.Amnesty International had accused five senior officers in a new 133-page report based on hundreds of interviews, including information from alleged military sources and leaked defence ministry documents.
Amnesty claimed that thousands of people were extra-judicially murdered by the security forces and their civilian vigilante allies, among other accusations.
“In the course of security operations against Boko Haram in north-east Nigeria, Nigerian military forces have extra judicially executed more than 1,200 people; they have arbitrarily arrested at least 20,000 people, mostly young men and boys,” Amnesty said.
Experts who spoke with Expdonaloaded blog said Amnesty should also look at the statistics on what the Boko Haram insurgents had done to innocent residents of Bornu, Adamawa and Yobe states.
Expdonaloaded blog learnt that the insurgents had killed over 17,000 and rendered more than 1.5 million Nigerians homeless. Most of those killed were innocent civilians.
Kunle Kalejaiye, a security expert said: “These persons were just innocent unarmed civilians who go about their daily businesses but became targets of the insurgents apparently because they were seen by the insurgents as infidels.”
Kalejaiye dismissed the Amnesty reports against the Nigerian Army, querrying the authenticity of the report in the face of the many moves by the insurgents and their sympathizers to halt the campaigns of the Nigerian Army.
“It is on record that during the era of Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, the Boko Haram insurgents were wrestled to the ground and their activities were kept away from major cities and crowded areas, especially the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
“Indeed, Boko Haram were boxed into a corner under Ihejirika, hence the attack by the insurgents using every available means,” Kalejaiye insisted.
Another expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, described as nonsensical, the allegations levelled against the Nigerian Armed forces by the Amnesty International. He charged the United States government to conduct an independent verification of the allegations.
He spoke while speaking at the 60th annual Seminar and Exhibits of the American Society for Industrial Security. He noted that the US had not been supplying ammunition to Nigeria because of the allegation, which is a contravention of the provisions of the Leahy Act.
Ekhomu, who is the President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, said the Boko Haram and the ISIS were “ideologically and operationally linked, as evidenced by the land grab strategy in north-eastern Nigeria and the declaration of the Islamic Caliphate of Gwoza which is similar to the ISIS land grab in Syria and Iraq and declaration of Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria.”
The security experts said the Amnesty report might lower the fighting spirit of the soldiers and officers on the battlefield and give the insurgents the required push to triumph over the army.
For instance, they said that human right groups, particularly Amnesty International, have been raising unnecessary alarms, accusing top military commanders of perpetuating illegality in the fight against Boko Haram while turning a blind eye when Boko Haram members gruesomely kill soldiers and innocent civilians.
“We are yet to see Amnesty International condemn the mass killing of innocent civilians in Baga. We are yet to see Amnesty International condemn the killing and raping of innocent children by the insurgents. All they do is sit down and find fault with the soldiers who are prosecuting the war,” they said.
The Defence Headquarters described the allegations made by Amnesty as gruesome. “It is unfortunate that all effort made in the allegation was geared towards continuation of blackmail against the military hierarchy which the organisation had embarked upon as far back as the inception of military’s action against terrorists in the North East.”
Military spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade, said the officers mentioned in the report have no reason whatsoever to indulge in the allegations made against them. “It is unfortunate that the organisation just went out to gather names of specified senior officers in a calculated attempt to rubbish their reputation as well as the image of the military. The action, no doubt, depicts more of a premeditated indictment aimed at discrediting the country for whatever purpose,” he said.
The military said the officers mentioned as well as the top echelon of the Armed Forces had always urged the soldiers to keep to the rule in the fight against the insurgents.
According to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.- Gen. Kenneth Minimah, the army remained committed to the rules of engagement in the ongoing fight against insurgents. Minimah, who spoke recently, said: “We have always operated within the rules of engagement. We have our rules of engagement for Operation Zaman Lafiya, which every soldier has. And from time to time we enforce it to ensure that the rules of engagement are executed within the confines of its provision.”
Some stakeholders have said each of the previous allegations by Amnesty International had been thoroughly responded to and cleared in the public and officially.
The Defence Headquarters also explained that the title and body of the 133 page-report are laced with traces of extreme bias, describing such as disturbing and capable of bringing the morale of the fighting troops to an all-time low.post by Expdonaloaded blogspot.com..“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 effort at curtailing terror.“It is clear that Amnesty International (AI) becomes more active in presenting distractive allegations whenever the terrorists are losing ground in the battle. It is very unfortunate that Amnesty International has used this report to further confirm its questionable interest in the counter-terrorism effort in Nigeria.“It will be recalled that the Joint Investigation Team was set up by the Defence Headquarters as part and parcel of efforts to ensure that no detainee suffers unjustly. “The detention facilities were thrown open for visits and inspections by independent bodies such as International Committee of the Red Cross and other reputable international organisations and personalities,” the Defence Headquarters said.
The Nigerian military advised Amnesty International to stop playing the role of an irritant coming up loudly only when the terrorists are losing out and remaining silent or complacent whenever the terrorist heightens its atrocities. “It is unfair to persist in efforts to discredit Nigerian military by seeking all avenues to stigmatise individual officers of the nation’s military purely to satisfy an agenda against the security agencies and image of Nigeria before the international community,” the military insisted.
They said the Nigerian Armed Forces are quite conscious of the fact that the operation has prompted the need to save citizens from abuse of their rights by mindless terrorists. Accordingly, they noted, the forces have continued to state and restate their commitment to the rights of Nigerians and all its citizens while prosecuting its anti-terrorism campaign.
“It is very unfortunate that Amnesty International has chosen to ignore all the responses and clarifications provided to its enquires by the authorities.
“It is unfair to rely on records or reports provided by certain disgruntled elements or faceless collaborators who have an axe to grind with the system as evidence against officers who have been conscientiously doing their duty to defend the nation and her citizens.
“For avoidance of doubt, the Nigerian military does not encourage or condone abuse of human rights, neither will any proven case be left unpunished. The kind of impunity being alleged by Amnesty International has no place in the Nigerian military. Every officer in the field is responsible for his action and is duly held accountable. So far, no allegation has been sufficiently proved against those whom Amnesty International is so desperate to convict.
“The statistics are largely spurious or manipulated to satisfy a clandestine motive. Indeed, the loud publicity given to these damning allegations suggests an intention to blackmail the military and particular, senior officers rather than a sincere advice to the government. This cruel tendency is not new, despite the timing.
“The Nigerian military therefore, rejects the biased and concocted report provided by Amnesty International.”
Click photo to download; but you lied to me by Expdona aka finish gravity
Expdonaloaded blog;Click the photo to download aboki wey d suya by Expdona aka finish gravity
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