Nigeria's Buhari Promises to Look Into Amnesty Claims
TVC
Lagos, Nigeria
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to investigate an Amnesty International report alleging that the military committed war crimes in the war against Boko Haram.
"I assure you that your report will be looked into," an official statement quoted Buhari as saying in Niger's capital Niamey, in his first reaction to the group's 133-page report.
"This administration will leave no stone unturned to promote the rule of law and deal with all cases of human rights abuses," he said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Shehu Garba.
Buhari is on an official visit to neighbouring Niamey, with the deadly Boko Haram insurgency set to feature high on the agenda in talks with Niger officials.
The new leader who took office last week after unseating a sitting president has vowed a tougher campaign on Boko Haram.
"Respect for human rights and adherence to the rule of law are the life and soul of the democratic system. We will not tolerate or condone impunity and reckless disregard for human rights," the statement added.
Amnesty International on Wednesday said senior military officers should be probed for the extra-judicial murders of hundreds of people and the deaths of thousands of others while in detention, including from torture and starvation.
Amnesty's secretary general Salil Shetty described the abuses as "sickening."
"In the course of security operations against Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria, Nigerian military forces have extra-judicially executed more than 1 200 people; they have arbitrarily arrested at least 20 000 people, mostly young men and boys," the report said.
Nigerian forces have in recent years "committed countless acts of torture; hundreds, if not thousands, of Nigerians have become victims of enforced disappearance; and at least 7 000 people have died in military detention as a result of starvation, extreme overcrowding and denial of medical assistance", it added.
But Nigeria's military has rejected the claims, saying the report was designed to besmirch its reputation.
"The Nigerian military does not encourage or condone abuse of human rights neither will any proven case be left unpunished," said military spokesperson Major General Chris Olukolade.
- See more at: http://www.tvcnews.tv/?q=article/nigerias-buhari-promises-look-amnesty-claims#sthash.ndY999ca.dpuf
Lagos, Nigeria
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to investigate an Amnesty International report alleging that the military committed war crimes in the war against Boko Haram.
"I assure you that your report will be looked into," an official statement quoted Buhari as saying in Niger's capital Niamey, in his first reaction to the group's 133-page report.
"This administration will leave no stone unturned to promote the rule of law and deal with all cases of human rights abuses," he said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Shehu Garba.
Buhari is on an official visit to neighbouring Niamey, with the deadly Boko Haram insurgency set to feature high on the agenda in talks with Niger officials.
The new leader who took office last week after unseating a sitting president has vowed a tougher campaign on Boko Haram.
"Respect for human rights and adherence to the rule of law are the life and soul of the democratic system. We will not tolerate or condone impunity and reckless disregard for human rights," the statement added.
Amnesty International on Wednesday said senior military officers should be probed for the extra-judicial murders of hundreds of people and the deaths of thousands of others while in detention, including from torture and starvation.
Amnesty's secretary general Salil Shetty described the abuses as "sickening."
"In the course of security operations against Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria, Nigerian military forces have extra-judicially executed more than 1 200 people; they have arbitrarily arrested at least 20 000 people, mostly young men and boys," the report said.
Nigerian forces have in recent years "committed countless acts of torture; hundreds, if not thousands, of Nigerians have become victims of enforced disappearance; and at least 7 000 people have died in military detention as a result of starvation, extreme overcrowding and denial of medical assistance", it added.
But Nigeria's military has rejected the claims, saying the report was designed to besmirch its reputation.
"The Nigerian military does not encourage or condone abuse of human rights neither will any proven case be left unpunished," said military spokesperson Major General Chris Olukolade.
- See more at: http://www.tvcnews.tv/?q=article/nigerias-buhari-promises-look-amnesty-claims#sthash.ndY999ca.dpuf
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