The Human Rights Commission has established a special independent investigative panel to look into allegations of human rights violations leveled against the military in charge of counter-insurgency operations in the North East.
This follows a widely publicized three-part report published last December by Reuters, a foreign news organization, that accused the Nigerian military of grave human rights violations.
According to Reuters, the Nigerian military has been involved in many secret abortions in the Northeast, infanticide, and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence over the last decade.
Last week, the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, appointed a seven-member panel to investigate the case, chaired by former Supreme Court Judge Justice Abdu Aboki.
On Tuesday, Ojukwu stated that the National Human Rights Commission “has invoked its inherent, express, and incidental powers as contained in sections 5 and 6 of the NHRC Act as amended to constitute a special independent investigative panel.”
According to Ojukwu, the panel will investigate the report and determine the culpability of the individuals and institutions involved before making appropriate recommendations.
In particular, the secretary stated that the panel would “investigate allegations of gross violations of national and international human rights laws/principles alleged against the Nigerian Armed Forces in the three Reuters reports; receive a memorandum from individuals and organizations with interest in the subject matter of the SIIP North-mandate, East’s particularly human rights, security, and humanitarian organizations working in the North-East; and make appropriate determinations.”
The panel would also “determine the damages or compensation payable in relation to any violation of human rights where it deems this necessary in the circumstances of the case; refer any matter of human rights violations requiring the prosecution to the Attorney General of the Federation or of a State, as the case may be; and make recommendations to government on institutional, policy, and regulatory measures to be taken to integrate human rights principles.”
The panel’s membership was drawn from relevant professional backgrounds bordering on the subject.
These professionals include those who work in the fields of law and human rights, medicine and psychology, military intelligence, and humanitarian affairs.
Furthermore, the secretary stated that the panel would work diligently with all available resources to investigate and uncover the truth behind the allegations and ensure that justice is served in all cases.
