Allegations Of Human Rights Abuse Will Be Tackled, Buhari Assures

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has once again given assurance that his government would closely study the report released recently by Amnesty International, (AI), in which top ranking officers of the Nigerian military were accused of gross abuse of human rights.

Accordingly, he has directed the top hierarchy of the Armed Forces to carry out internal enquiry to authenticate the veracity or otherwise of the claims by the AI and take the necessary steps towards addressing the issue.

A statement by one of the spokesmen of the President, Malam Garba Shehu in Abuja yesterday said Buhari was quite disturbed by the allegations contained in the report, and has assured that the next step is to look into the allegations and confirm or disprove the disturbing details.

Shehu added that President Buhari had already determined that one of the first assignments of the incoming Attorney General of the Federation would be to look into the Amnesty International report and advise the government on an appropriate course of action. “This is in addition to the internal inquiry he asked the armed services to undertake by themselves,” Shehu said.

He also emphasised the President’s commitment to human rights issues and his promise that there would be no human rights abuses under his government.

“Any allegation of human rights abuse that takes place during the tenure of President Buhari’s government will be swiftly investigated and dealt with,” he said.

Buhari had while fielding reporters’ questions during the Extra-Ordinary session of the Summit of Heads of States/Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Thursday night, raised some questions about the AI’s silence on the fate of thousands of Nigerians who have been brutalized by the Boko Haram insurgents.

His words: “As regards human rights we have seen it, I have personally seen the reports in the press but our commanders, mainly Nigerians commanders, have been accused of ill treating Boko Haram.

The question of Boko Haram killing tens of thousands of Nigerians was not an issue, but the issue is that Nigerian commanders have allowed their troops to kill some Boko Haram members or ill-treated them while they were in camp. I believe the military hierarchy is investigating the case.”