President Muhammadu Buhari has once again given assurance that his government will closely study the report released recently by Amnesty International, in which top ranking officers of the Nigerian military were accused of gross human rights abuses.
Specifically, he said the first assignment one of the first assignments of the incoming attorney-general of the federation would be to look into the report and advise the government on an appropriate course of action.
On June 3, the human rights watchdog released a report naming Alex Badeh, chief of defence staff, Kenneth Minimah, chief of army staff and Azubuike Ihejirika, former chief of army staff, as figures responsible for war crimes committed by troops under their command in the northeast.
However, the Nigerian military swiftly dismissed the report as “premeditated blackmail”, and an attempt by the organisation to rubbish its effort in ridding the northeast of insurgents.
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But in a statement on Friday, Garba Shehu, spokesman of the president, said: “The president is quite disturbed by the allegations contained in the report. The next step is to look into the allegations and confirm or disprove the disturbing details.”
“This is in addition to the internal inquiry he asked the armed services to undertake by themselves,” the presidency official said.
He also emphasised Buhari’s commitment to human rights, 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 added.
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