Army, Boko Haram and charges of rights abuses

Amnesty alleged in its report that extrajudicial killing and other serious human rights violations were part of the crimes of the Nigerian Army. According to it, even though documenting human rights abuses is part of its routine work, evidence had been unearthed of horrendous abuses and sadistic conduct that left hardened investigators aghast and lost […]

Amnesty alleged in its report that extrajudicial killing and other serious human rights violations were part of the crimes of the Nigerian Army. According to it, even though documenting human rights abuses is part of its routine work, evidence had been unearthed of horrendous abuses and sadistic conduct that left hardened investigators aghast and lost for words.  The video clips join the library of such infamous graphic images which apparently depict conduct by parties to the conflict that tend to provide fodder for such indictment.  The Army has disclaimed the uniformed actors that appear in the video clips, and disputed the eyewitness testimonies, but the report only adds to previously documented acts of unprofessional behaviour by soldiers posted to combat the insurgency.   Extrajudicial killings by the security forces have almost become commonplace, part of the repertoire in their strategy to deal with security challenges. Beside vague pledges to look into some of the egregious cases that somehow become public knowledge, the security services do little else to check the ugly trend.
There is no doubt that Boko Haram’s tactics are despicable and beyond the pale, and cannot be excused under whatever guise.  These no doubt inflame passions among personnel of the security forces but, as Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, pointed out, a state of emergency should not mean a state of lawlessness.   More than 4,000 people have lost their lives this year alone, including the 600 said to have been executed without trial following the Giwa Barracks attack in Maiduguri in March. Although non-state actors like Boko Haram are not constrained by morals or ethics of war, it is important for the Nigerian Army to understand that no matter the provocation, it must maintain utmost professionalism and discipline and cannot afford to descend to the depravity of the insurgents.  How come that the same Nigerian Army which has been repeatedly praised for the comportment of its personnel during international peacekeeping operations and adherence to Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war is being vilified at home for inhumane and dastardly conduct with regard to the war to contain the insurgency?
Their image of heavy-handedness in the conduct of local operations brought widespread shock when twelve people from a sect led by the well-known cleric Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky were killed by soldiers in circumstances that are yet to be fully clarified by the Army. A situation in which innocent, peace-loving and law-abiding citizens become part of the collateral damage in the name of war or terror must be checked.   Once soldiers and other armed services begin to see civilians as part of the enemy, and vice versa, a fertile ground is provided for abuses to occur. It is not really important to determine who made the first move in that perfidious direction; the important lesson for the Army to learn is that its personnel’s major task is to win the hearts and minds of the civilian population if they are to be successful in any combat with the enemy.
Although the Defence Headquarters spokesman, Major General Christopher Olukolade, has said that a joint investigation team had been set up to ascertain the veracity of the footage and identify those behind that acts, it is clear that there must be an end to arbitrary arrests, torture, detention without trial and extrajudicial killings. An immediate, impartial, independent and thorough investigation is urgently needed, and military authorities must publicly condemn any infraction, and punish anyone found culpable. Only when that is done can the military begin to gain public confidence in the institution and have faith in the conduct of its personnel.