The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has described the report by Amnesty International (AI) that over 10,000 civilians died in military detention as lacking in merit and mischievous.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, stated this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
Buba said that AI made the spurious allegations during a news conference on Dec 5.
According to him, the organisation alleged that, since the onset of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East of Nigeria (NE) over 10,000 civilians died in Nigerian Military detention facilities among other spurious allegations.
“The armed forces views the pronouncements by Amnesty International as shocking, lacking in merit as well as mischievous, particularly as it is coming at this ending cycle stage of the counter terrorism war in the NE.
“Though the Armed Forces is not willing to join words with Amnesty International, it is of utmost necessity to set the records straight.
“The Nigerian military is a professional force which conducts its operations within the dictates of international humanitarian law and the laws of armed conflicts.
“Though the operational environment has been complex and challenging, troops have painstakingly abided by the rules of engagement to extensively avoid civilian casualties in whatever shape or form.
“Additionally, whenever arrests are made, suspects are profiled, after which the suspects are handed over to the appropriate agency for release or prosecution,” he said.
Buba said that there were standing court martials within the operational theatres to ensure justice was immediately administered to any erring personnel during operations.
He said that the armed forces under the leadership of Gen. Christopher Musa had remained professional in carrying out its constitutional mandates in line with global best practices.
“On the whole, the armed forces invites Amnesty International to substantiate the details of the allegations.
“This will enable the military to conduct an inquiry in order to determine the authenticity or otherwise of the made allegations,” he said.
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