Army faults Amnesty International report

The Nigerian Army on Tuesday condemned the recent report by Amnesty International that the military Joint Task Force (JTF) has committed gross human rights violations.

The human rights body accused soldiers of conducting themselves unprofessionally in their mission to crush members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect.

The rights group had in a report released last Thursday, said the JTF had extra judicially executed, detained suspects without trial or charge and and had forced the disappearance of hundreds of people who had been accused of possible link with the Boko Haram sect.

But on the contrary, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika in a media chat on Tuesday, in Abuja said that the methodology used by International Human Rights Group was faulty.

Represented by the Chief of Civil Military Affairs, Maj-Gen Bitrus Kwaji, Ihejirika described the report as “unbalanced and highly subjective”. He said that the military were never contacted or consulted while the Rights Groups were gathering information, and conducting interviews with members of the sect.

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