Youths condemn clashes, fault Amnesty’s rights report on military

The Nigeria Youth Parliament (NYP) has decried the killings and loss of property to the activities of nomads nationwide.

The group also faulted the report by Amnesty International accusing the nation’s armed forces of rights abuses in the insurgency war against the Boko Haram sect in the North East.

NYP’s Speaker, Obe Ayodele John, who spoke at the weekend in Abuja, urged security outfits to put in place measures to tackle the growing insecurity in the country.

On the organisation’s national youth security summit holding April in Abuja, John said it behooves the authorities at the three tiers of government to reach out to the youths who play key role in keeping the peace of the nation.

He disclosed that a lecture titled, massive and concerted investment in youth development, a panacea for youth restiveness and safer Nigeria, is to be delivered at the gathering billed to attract participants from all parts of the federation.

John called on youths to support efforts by government to protect lives and property nationwide.

He said: “No nation develops on the bedrock of violence, crimes and vices. So, let us shun inciting thoughts, acts and speeches capable of causing turmoil, hatred, violence and war. The NYP pledges its maximum cooperation for the safety, unity, sanctity and development of Nigeria.”

The group’s minority leader, Comrade Obande Gideon Obande, who decried the Amnesty International’s report maintained that the armed forces acted and still acting within the confines of internationally accepted rules of engagement in the ongoing anti-terror war.

He urged the global agency to dedicate its energies towards identifying perpetrators of rights abuses in the wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya.

Obande called on the authorities to cater for the needs of the families of soldiers who laid their lives in the ongoing effort to rid the country of the menace of Boko Haram and other criminal activities.