Nigerian forces out of control in terror fight -AI

Posted by admin Armed Forces, Boko Haram, Latest Politics Friday, November 2nd, 2012

Amnesty International has released its latest report on the atrocities carried out by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, as well as human rights violations perpetrated by Nigerian security forces in response.

The report titled, ‘Nigeria: Trapped in the cycle of violence’, was presented to the media, in Abuja, on Wednesday.

Secretary-General of AI, Salil Shetty, who presented the report, noted that the brutal actions of Nigeria’s security forces in response to Boko Haram’s campaign of terror were making an already desperate situation even worse.

Reacting to the report, the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police, CSP Frank Mba, dismissed the report, describing it as lacking credibility.

Shetty told reporters, “The cycle of attack and counter-attack has been marked by unlawful violence on both sides, with devastating consequences for human rights of those trapped in the middle.

“People are living in a climate of fear and insecurity, vulnerable to attack from Boko Haram and facing human rights violations at the hands of the very state security forces which should be protecting them.”

The report noted that grave human rights violations have been committed by Boko Haram including murder, burning down of schools and churches and attacks on media houses and journalists.

It however noted that security operations targeting Boko Haram had been conducted with little regard for the rule of law or human rights.

The report observed that hundreds of people accused of having links to Boko Haram had been arbitrarily detained by a combination of the Joint Task Force- a combined forces group commissioned by the President to restore law and order in areas affected by Boko Haram-the State Security Service and the Police.

It decried lengthy detentions without charge or trial, without proper notification of family members, without being brought before any judicial authority, and without access to lawyers or the outside world. Adding, “A significant number have been extra-judicially executed.”

The Secretary-General noted that the government of Nigeria must take effective action to protect the population against Boko Haram’s campaign of terror in northern and central Nigeria, but insisted that this must be done within the boundaries of the law.

He said, “Every injustice carried out in the name of security only fuels more terrorism, creating a vicious circle of murder and destruction.”

The police said the credibility of the report was in doubt because most of the sources of the content were not named and “thus not open to confirmation or reconciliation.”

Mba, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday said the police would continue to do everything humanly possible to improve the capacity and efficiency of its service delivery, especially as it relates to its core responsibility of protecting life and property.

He said, “The Force is deeply concerned over a key research methodology adopted by Amnesty International in compiling its report.”

-Punchwp_posts