The alarm bell sounded by Amnesty International on the vicious cycle of violence currently taking place in Nigeria is hardly surprising, coming as it were amidst the grotesque campaign of human savagery and barbarism by the murderous Boko Haram sect, responsible for the brutal killing of over 13, 000 persons till date. In its latest report, the London-based human rights group said “more than 7,000 young men and boys; some as young as nine years old, died in military detention, and more than 1,200 people were unlawfully killed since March 2011.” The report outlines the roles and criminal responsibilities of the army chain of command up to the Chief of Defense Staff and Chief of Army Staff and named nine senior officers who should be investigated for potential individual or command responsibility for war crimes of murder, torture and enforced disappearance. The report is bound to raise eyebrows within and outside Nigeria, with possible adverse consequences for Nigeria’s image as a country with deeply dysfunctional institutions where bizarre things can happen. Therefore, Nigerians deserve full accountability.
Titled: “Stars on their shoulders. Blood on their hands: War crimes committed by the Nigerian military” the report details a range of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by security forces deployed to counter Boko Haram. Amnesty particularly noted that: “the Nigerian military has arrested at least 20,000 young men and boys since 2009. Detainees are held incommunicado in extremely overcrowded, unventilated cells without sanitary facilities and with little food or water. Many are subjected to torture, and thousands have died from ill-treatment and dire detention conditions. After years of research and analysis of evidence, we found that these thousands of people were starved, suffocated, tortured to death or executed while in government custody,” the report said.
Expectedly, the report has excited agitations for the Buhari administration to investigate and prosecute the top military commanders if they knew or should have known about the commission of war crimes by their subordinates and failed to take adequate action to prevent them or ensure the perpetrators were brought to justice. The officers are: General Azubuike Ihejirika – Chief of Army Staff, Sept 2010 – Jan 2014; Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim – Chief of Defense Staff, Oct 2012 – Jan 2014; Air Chief Marshal Badeh – Chief of Defense Staff, Jan 2014 – present and General Ken Minimah – Chief of Army Staff, Jan 2014 – present. Others are: Major General John Ewansiha; Major General Obida Ethnan; Major General Ahmadu Mohammed; Brigadier General Austin Edokpayi and Brigadier Gen. Rufus Bamigboye.
The report epitomizes, in a dramatic fashion, the rampaging culture of impunity in the army. Although President Buhari has promised to look into the report, it is indeed a tragedy that the top brass of the nation’s military would be accused of acts of omission and commission that cast the country negatively in terms of moral accountability and respect for the rule of law. That Nigerian security forces; whose prime responsibility is the protection of lives and property; should be accused of having the blood of as many as 8,000 Nigerian civilians on their hands, is neither edifying to the military, nor the nation. It is one more embarrassment that Nigeria can do without.
Undoubtedly, since its disturbing emergence in 2001, the ravages of Boko Haram have been felt wherever it attacks, as it leaves a trail of blood and death. Aside its predilection for killing innocent civilians, the group holds the ignoble record of kidnapping which resulted in its abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls last year in Chibok, Borno State. Amnesty documented not only the atrocities of Boko Haram but also the serious human rights violations said to have been carried out by security forces deployed to counter the insurgency. The report is however unequivocal that these breaches including torture, extrajudicial executions and detention without trial can only make an already desperate situation worse.
The Amnesty report reflects the heightened state of impunity and indecorous professional conduct in military circles. That the military hierarchy could be accused of gross human rights violations, hints of an imprudent display of lawlessness. Notwithstanding the situation, as the ethos of modern democracies demand, the military cannot operate outside the law. This is what makes the excesses documented in the report, all the more puzzling! The evidence of systemic abuses in detention centers like the Sector Alpha detention facility, known as “Guantanamo” in Damaturu, Yobe state, advertised a certain violation of even the basic rules of war, which exposed a breakdown in the leadership command chain.
Be that as it may, the report was also an unwholesome expression of the helplessness of the commander-in-chief. All in all, the impression created is that President Jonathan, as commander-in-chief was held hostage by the service chiefs or their cohorts and that he had no control over the army. This being the case, the import of the report is for government now to take effective action to protect its population against Boko Haram’s campaign of terror within the boundaries of the rule of law; to change the strategy for tackling the nation’s security challenges by discarding the indiscriminate use of brutal force that inevitably creates a vicious cycle of violence; and to draw attention to the pathetic state of the Nigerian army in terms of funding, training and operational tools.
President Buhari has promised to restore the rule of law and rebuild a professional Nigerian military in addition to defeating Boko Haram. These goals will not be achieved unless the culture of impunity among the security forces is broken and Nigeria outlaws torture. The military high command must be investigated for sanctioning or failing to prevent the deaths of thousands of people who were in their custody or caught in counter-insurgency operations. The Nigerian armed forces certainly have the capacity to protect the country from the current security threat, if given the necessary training and equipment to fulfil the task. Nigerian soldiers are a source of pride but must be re-jigged by the new administration for greater efficiency. If things were wrong in the past, this is the time to correct them. Nigeria needs to equip and motivate her men and women in uniform. For today and for the future.
While Buhari may find it necessary, as an image boosting measure, to commit his government’s willingness to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations with a view to determining the truth, sanctioning those culpable, if there are, and preventing a recurrence, the army must, as a matter of urgency, set the record straight with verifiable data of the number of detainees in the various detention cells, the charges preferred against them, the status of their prosecution and the number of those that had been released based on no-case-submission. This will go a long way to help repair the country’s battered international image.
Beyond Buhari’s assurances to “leave no stone unturned to promote the rule of law, and deal with all cases of human rights abuses,” the new President should order the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to undertake an independent inquiry not just of the Amnesty report; but the entire counter-insurgency operation to ensure that security forces operate within the rule of law and with respect for the rights of citizens. The report of such an enquiry should be made public and those found to have compromised service integrity made to face the full wrath of the law. That is what is expected of any responsible government confronted with such grievous allegations.
