Amnesty Int’l Releases New Report on NE Conflict *Accuses military civilian JTF of rape, discrimination against women, girls …says report not meant to destabilize Nigeria

Senator Shehu to Buhari: you need SA on human rights

The international right group, Amnesty International (AI), on Thursday in Abuja, formally launched its report on human rights situation in the northeast of Nigeria, wherein the military and the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), were accused of sexually abusing female victims of Boko Haram in Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) and military detention facilities in Borno and Yobe States.

The report titled, 'They Betrayed Us: Women who survived Boko Haram raped, starved and detained in Nigeria', chronicled the experiences of women and girls who fled their homes as a result of Boko Haram insurgency or those rescued by Nigeria military but ended up being abused, starved and discriminated against by those who were suppose to protect them.

In an address at the presentation, Country Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho said the formal presentation aimed to draw attention of the public, including the international community to the plight of the victims.

“Since 2015, various NGOs and humanitarian organizations have reported sexual violence and deaths in camps for internally displaced people in north-east Nigeria. While the authorities frequently promised to investigate such report, there has been no tangible action to address the problem and no one appears to have been brought to justice. It is not always clear if these investigations were carried out as no reports have been made public”, she said.

Ojigho lamented that despite the fact that AI shared its findings with the Nigerian authorities in February, 2018, at the time of publication of the report in May 2018, no response has been received.

Also speaking, Chairman, Board of Trustees of AI Nigeria, Auwal Rafsanjani, said contrary to claims in some quarters that the organization was out to destabilize the country, AI is in the country to pursue and ensure rights of ordinary people are protected as guaranteed by the constitution.

“We are not in competition with anybody and we are not politicians and we are not here to bring down government. We are just interested in ensuring that rights of Nigerians are respected and protected. We are only calling on the government to be responsive and be responsible.

“What we are calling for is accountability; human right abuses and violations that have taken place must be accounted for. People who perpetrated evil must account for it”.

On his part, Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial district at the National Assembly however advised the presidency not to dismiss the report but rather study the report to first confirm the veracity and if true take appropriate measures to address the development once and for all.

While lamenting that Nigerians have a phobia for the truth, he advised President Muhammadu Buhari to have a Special Adviser on Human Rights, who will always advised him appropriately on such issues.  

He stated that when rights are violated, apart from the victims, the government of the day and the ruling party suffers from it.

Senator Sani, promised to take the report to the National Assembly for the legislators to take a look and see how they can contribute towards remedying the situation, adding that Nigeria has become a slaughter house, going by the spate of killings in almost every part of the country.

While berating politicians for being more concern about their image and their political ambitions than the lives of the people, he appealed to the military to flush the bad eggs among them, as the country still depends on them to bring an end to the crisis.

Other speakers at the occasion however appealed to the government to employ other means such as dialogue in resolving the crisis, as according to them the war has lingered for too long with no victory in sight.

Two members of NIFA- “Women Separated from their Husbands by the Nigerian Soldiers”, who narrated their ordeals at the Bama General Hospital Camp in Borno State, call on relevant authorities to investigate the matter and ensure justice is served.