Amnesty International, the global human rights watchdog, on Thursday insisted that its allegations of human rights abuses against the Nigerian military were factual and not baseless as insinuated in some quarters.
Amnesty International’s Director of Research and Advocacy, Netsanet Belay, stated this when he led a delegation from the organisation on a courtesy visit to Army headquarters in Abuja.
According to Belay, Amnesty International’s information on rights abuses in Nigeria and other parts of the world are based on painstaking research that spans over several years.
He said the organisation’s allegations were usually not baseless, adding that such were made with “great pain”.
He added: “Amnesty International has been documenting for several years 60 forms of violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws in Nigeria.
“We have published two reports.
“One of them bothers on the serious crimes committed by the armed group called Boko Haram in the North East.
“But at the same time we believe strongly that there are strong evidences which indicate the systematic violation of human rights and international humanitarian laws by the Nigerian military in its operations.
“The report is a product of years of research.
“We have travelled to the North East and various destinations.
“We interviewed victims, detainees, military sources as well and our findings suggested that there was indeed a serious concern raised by our respondents.”
Belay, however, expressed confidence in the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari administration to investigate and deal with all proven cases of human rights abuses by security agencies.
He said Amnesty International acknowledged the difficulties encountered by security agencies in dealing with the danger posed by the Boko Haram insurgency.
According to him, Amnesty International is mindful and acknowledges the extremely difficult situation that security agencies are confronted with as a result of attacks by insurgency on civilians in the region.
Earlier in his remark, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, said allegations of human rights abuses against soldiers in operation were being investigated by authorities at different levels.
Buratai dismissed insinuation that the military deliberately violated the rights of people during its operations, adding that its personnel were guided by rules and regulations that conformed to the Nigerian constitution.
Buratai said the military was concerned about the issues raised by Amnesty International in the past six years of its operation in the North East.
He said: “The Nigerian Army is open and ready to take constructive criticism in the line of its duty.
“I can assure you that we are ready to make amends if at the end of investigations some of these cases are proven to be true.
“We have rules of engagement and we are guided by them and provisions of the constitution in all our operations.
“All those issues that were brought to our notice are being investigated in a professional manner.”
Buratai said human rights desks had been established at Army headquarters, adding that the army had other avenues of resolving reported cases of rights violation.
The Army Chief, however, cautioned the human rights body on its sources of information, adding that some of the organisation’s sources were planted by the insurgents to discredit the military.
He said Boko Haram insurgents had employed dubious means in the past to denigrate the Nigerian Army in its campaign to end the menace.
According to him, not all sources represent the truth about happenings in the North East, particularly ones that relate to the killing of suspected insurgents.
He said many of the cases of violation were carried out by the Boko Haram insurgents disguised in military uniforms.
Buratai said the interactions with the human rights watch dog would avail both organisations the opportunity to share ideas that would help address the alleged abuse of human rights during military operations.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Buratai had recently met with representatives of human rights organisations to address widespread allegations of rights abuses by the military.
NAN.
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