Alleged 10,000 Civilian Deaths: Amnesty International Mischievous- DHQ
By Ewache Ajefu
The Nigeria Defence Headquarters has said that the. allegations of the death of over ten thousand civilians in detention camps of the military since the start of insurgency by the Amnesty International was not only spurious but mischievous and lacking merit.
Director of Defence Media Operations,Major General Edward Buba in a statement Friday said
“The armed forces views 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 though the Armed Forces is not willing to join words with Amnesty International, it is of utmost necessity to set the records straight, saying that the Nigerian military is a professional forces which conducts its operations within the dictates of international humanitarian law and the laws of armed conflicts.
Buba noted 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, afterwhich the suspects are handed over to the appropriate agency for release or prosecution.
He posited that as a deterence to unethical conducts, there are standing court martials within the operational theatres to ensure justice is immediately administered to any erring personnel during operations. Overall, It is necessary to reiterate that the armed forces under the able leadership of the CDS, General Christopher Musa, remains professional in carrying out its constitutional mandates in line with global best practices.
He said the armed forces invites Amnesty International to substantiate the details of the allegations, which will enable the military to conduct an inquiry in order to determine the authencity or otherwise of the made allegations.
