Group urges FG to prosecute soldiers accused of war crimes

By : Michael Akinadewo

Date: 31 May 2018 5:00am WAT

Soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) celebrate next to a commanding officer in Matombo, 35km north of Beni, North Kivu, on January 13, 2018, during the Operation Sokola 1. The Congolese army on January 13, 2018 announced a new operation against armed groups, notably the ADF Ugandan Islamist rebels suspected of murdering 14 UN peacekeepers last month. Army vehicles transported some 300 troops to the operation's headquarters near Beni in the restive eastern province of North Kivu. / AFP PHOTO / Alain WANDIMOYI

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A group, Access to Justice (A2J) has urged the Federal Government to prosecute military personnel accused of war crimes in Nigeria.

The group’s Director, Joseph Otteh also enjoined government to reverse its condemnation of Amnesty International on the issue.

Otteh called for an independent panel to investigate the allegation. This comes as Amnesty International has published a report titled: “They Betrayed Us’ Women Who Survived Boko Haram Raped, Starved And Detained in Nigeria.”

The report alleged that the Nigerian military carried out systematic patterns of violence and abuse against the population.

It also accused them of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, including rape in exchange for food.

The Presidency through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had denounced the report as a “wild goose chase report.”

Otteh disapproved government’s reaction to the report, adding that it is unfortunate that they chose to vilify, rather than doing a thorough investigation on the report.
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