Stories by Bode Olagoke
Abuja
President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the perceived human rights abuses by the military and other security agencies are been exaggerated and should to be properly investigated.
Jonathan made this call while declaring open the three days International Workshop on Civil Military Cooperation at the National Defence College organised by the office of the National Security Adviser and the European Union.
“We have taken very serious reports from some international organisations about perceived human rights abuses by our security force during military operations.
“Findings have generally shown that these reports are in the need exaggerated, we know that there are issues but the report sometimes exaggerate the issues
“For me maybe standing as a president of a country where we are fighting terror, if you make certain statements people will begin to interpret that the president is trying to defend the armed forces
“Or trying to protect himself from being dragged to the Hague as it is what is now common for president to be dragged to the Hague. Some of these reports need to be properly investigated.
The president recounted how in the 1990s a Port-Harcourt Newspaper published photographs of about Nigerian soldiers raping girls on the street of a community called Choba.
“.I can recount an incident that happened in 1992 , I can say exactly , a newspaper one morning came out with photographs of soldiers raping girls on the street of a community called Chuba and we were all alarmed soldiers raping women in Chuba .
“Chuba incidentally is not a community that is hidden that is where the University of Port-Harcourt is located, investigations was made even Civil Societies, people asked questions and there was no incident like that at all.
“This is why we are trying to see and we have discussed that we must review use of military camouflage and fatigue dresses by military and paramilitary agencies these are being abused and people who are not suppose to use them are using them.
The president however said that the current state of insurgency throws up threat and distinct challenges to our security forces.
Jonathan promised that the Federal Government will do its best to ensure that soldiers or troops involved in internal and external operations do that in line with the country’s law.
He appealed to the Human Rights Communities for broader cooperation and deeper understanding of the circumstances that the country faces and for greater appreciation of the efforts put in place for improved civil-military relations as identified by this workshop.
“Our commitment to continue to investigate and bring to a just and fair closure any suspected or reported case of human right abuse shall go on unhindered.
.This workshop will no doubt serve as a veritable platform for the Nigerian armed forces and relevant security agencies to key into international best practices in this very requirement for the conduct of successful counter-terrorism and other emergent military operations.
Chairman of the ceremony and former Head of State Gen Abudulsalam Abubarkar said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies face the issue of human right hence the training curriculum in all the country’s military training establishments include a component of human rights .
Abubarkar said that it was therefore imperative that the deliberations at this workshop should proffer some modalities for integrating human rights and best practices across the globe for institutionalizing respect for the rule of law via internal security operations.
Head of EU delegation Mr Michel Arrion said that the workshop should be considered as a landmark in particularly the support of EU to Nigeria on soft approach to counter-terrorism.
Represented by Mr Alen Monday First Secretary and Head of Section National –Regional Development, Arrion said that the project is one of the projects the EU is implementing in Africa .
Earlier, the National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki Rtd said that the workshop was intended to support the Armed Forces, the Police Force and the department of State Services in the internal security operations .
Dasuki said that the workshop will also raise the security agencies level of compliance with provision of international humanitarian and human rights law in accordance with international best practices
