The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) Monday denied allegations of unlawful detention of young women by Amnesty International.
Director Defence Media Operations Major General Edward Buba in a statement refuted the allegations in a statement, said the Armed Forces (AFN) of Nigeria is a professional force that operates within the ambit of International law of armed conflict.
He noted that the AFN adheres to humanitarian law and principles governing human rights.
He said the military will remain unperturbed by such self serving statements targeted at dampening the moral of troops in operational theatres.
“Furthermore, the AFN elects not to join words with organisations such as Amnesty International, rather would encourage them to approach the military high command to substantiate their allegations.
“The military has self regulating mechanisms with which it administers the military justice system to address any proven case of misconduct of personnel.
” It is worthy of note to state that, the AFN led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa OFR, has zero tolerance for indiscipline and any form of improper conduct during operations across the country. It is for this reason that, there are standing court martials to treat any form of misbehaviour by erring personnel, especially those that portray the military negatively to the general populace.
“Lastly, the AFN will remain focussed on its objective. We will be unperturbed by such self serving statements targeted at dampening the moral of troops in operational theatres. Rather, we will engage constructively with Amnesty International, where available. Overall, we will continue on the trajectory of conducting operations assiduously to defeat terrorism in our nation,” the statement read.
