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The permanent secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulus Lolo, on Wednesday, June 24, said the president wants to verify the AI report which implicated some retired and serving military officers in extra-judicial killings, torture and other human rights abuses.
“Due to the magnitude of the allegations, the President Buhari-led government is looking into the report with a view to establishing the fact of the matter. The government has, therefore, instituted an investigation and assures that there will be no cover-up.” the permanent secretary said.
Bulus Lolo said the Nigerian army is expected to confirm to the highest level of professionalism by its officers in the conduct of its operations at all times, Punch reports.
He explained that in it’s counter-terror operations against Boko Haram, the military were given powers to arrest, interrogate and detain anyone suspected of involvement in terrorist activities in line with the state of emergency imposed on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
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He, however, raised concerns that the Amnesty International did not indict Boko Haram for the “horrendous, mindless and ruinous activities” carried out by the group.
“In Nigeria, as in other regions where terrorists have unleashed their evil acts without a scintilla of respect for morality, extreme measures are sometimes required to contain extremism,” he added.
The amnesty report alleges that in the course of Nigeria’s war against the Boko Haram sect, at least 7,000 people have died in government detention because of brutal conditions, an additional 1,200 have been extra-judicially executed by Nigerian security forces, and at least 20,000 have been “arbitrarily arrested” by the authorities.
The Nigerian army has, however, dismissed the claims by AI as untrue, it has also alleged that the report of the human right body is full of inconsistencies.
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