Nigerian military denies death of 10,000 civilians in its facilities

The Defence headquarters has invited Amnesty International to substantiate the details of its allegations made during a press conference held on December 5, 2024 alleging that since the onset of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East of Nigeria over ten thousand civilians died in Nigerian Military detention facilities, among other spurious allegations

A Statement by the Director not Defence media operations, Major General Edward Buba says this will enable the military to conduct an inquiry in order to determine the authencity or otherwise of the made allegations.

He said the armed forces views the pronouncements by Amnesty International as shocking, lacking in merit as well as mischievous, particularly as it coming at this ending cycle stage of the counter terrorism war in the Northeast

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Buba added that Though the Armed Forces is not willing to join words with Amnesty International, it is of utmost necessity to set the records straight. That The Nigerian military is a professional forces 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, troop have painstakingly abide by the rules of engagement to extensively avoid civilian casualties in whatever shape or form. Additionally, whenever arrest are made , suspects are profiled, afterwhich the suspects are handed over to the appropriate agency for release or prosecution.

Furthermore , As a deterence to unethical conducts, there are standing court martials within the operational theatres to ensure justice is immediately administered to any erring personnel during operations. Overall, It is necessary to reiterate that the armed forces under the leadership of the General Christopher Musa, remains professional in carrying out its constitutional mandates in line with global best practices.