![Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, CEO of Gavi Alliance. [PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter handle of Atiku Abubakar]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2023/02/Dr-Muhammad-Ali-Pate.jpeg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1)
President Bola Tinubu said on Monday that he has no reason to probe the military operations across the country. Mr Tinubu said while there might be leakages, the military hierarchy is judiciously utilising funds allocated to it.
He spoke during his first Presidential Media Chat.
|
|
Nigerian soldiers are deployed to over 30 of the 36 states in Nigeria to curb one form of insecurity or the other.
“I’m not probing any service chief,” the president said when asked if he has plans to do such. “You cannot disrespect the institution because of threats of probe.”
|
|
|
|---|
He said military operatives “are living and operating in a very serious condition.”
Admitting that Nigeria as a large country has a lot of ungoverned spaces including forest reserves, Mr Tinubu praised the military, saying: “I am proud of what they are doing today. No need to probe.”
The president also expressed satisfaction with the country’s security situation, saying the roads are now safe for travel.
“Today, I have confidence in my security architecture of this country. Today, you can still travel on the roads. Before now, it was impossible,” he said.
“Today, that is not the story any longer. People can leave Kaduna and still go towards Kafanchan by road,” he added. “Well, the road may not be that smooth, but gradually, we will be there.”
Former top officials of the military, including those of the army and air force, and a former National Security Adviser, who served previous administrations, have been prosecuted for allegedly stealing public funds while in office.
Alleged Military Atrocities
While the military will not be probed for financial irregularities under the president, PREMIUM TIMES reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands, is currently probing some past actions of the military.
The Nigerian military agencies, particularly the army and the air force have been accused of grievous crimes against humanity, according to a preliminary examination by the ICC.
Opened in 2010 and concluded ten years later, the preliminary examination, according to former ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, found that the Nigerian security forces deployed to conflict zones committed offences such as murder, rape, torture, and cruel treatment such as enforced disappearance, forcible transfer of population and direct attacks against the civilian population.
In his remarks at the 23rd Session of the Assembly of States Parties earlier this month, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, begged the ICC to stop the “prolonged” investigation into alleged crimes by military personnel against civilians in conflict zones.
Mr Fagbemi, a senior advocate, argued that the continuous probing of the security forces is “demoralising to the servicemen laying their lives to defend their country against terrorists.”
He claimed that the Nigerian military adheres to international humanitarian law (IHL) and ensures accountability for any personnel found guilty of misconduct. In a situation where a state fails to investigate and prosecute state actors found guilty of crimes against humanity, the ICC is expected to take charge of the investigation and ensure that the officials involved are prosecuted.
Arguing that Nigeria does not fall under such a category, Mr Fagbemi said, “The ICC is meant to act as a court of last resort, intervening only when national legal systems are unable or unwilling to address grave crimes.”
“I must assert that Nigeria does not fall under any such situation,” he continued. “Our nation has consistently demonstrated both the will and the capacity to investigate and prosecute serious crimes, including those committed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. We are proud of the Nigerian Military, which has systems and structures in place to ensure their operations are guided by international humanitarian law and human rights principles.”
The probe continues
In a statement dated 11 December 2020, Ms Bensouda, the former ICC boss, explained that Nigerian military authorities informed her that “they have examined, and dismissed, allegations against their own troops.”
“We have engaged in multiple missions to Nigeria to support national efforts, shared our own assessments, and invited the authorities to act. We have seen some efforts made by the prosecuting authorities in Nigeria to hold members of Boko Haram to account in recent years, primarily against low-level captured fighters for membership in a terrorist organisation,” she had said.
In April 2022, Ms Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan, visited Nigeria to further discuss the matter.
During his visit, Mr Khan reminded Nigerian authorities of their legal obligations under the Rome Statute to conduct effective, genuine and meaningful national investigations and prosecutions of the alleged conduct identified by the ICC.
Mr Khan’s office has since then engaged with the national authorities, according to a brief available on the ICC website.
“This led the Nigerian authorities to provide the Office with additional information on relevant domestic proceedings,” the brief partly read, noting that the ICC during its subsequent visit in March said it would take the lead in investigating the crimes “in the absence of genuine efforts by Nigerian authorities to bridge existing impunity gaps.”
Unchecked military atrocities against civilians
According to estimates by the United Nations, the counter-insurgency war has, directly and indirectly, killed 350,000 people and uprooted 2.5 million — Borno State [the epicentre of Boko Haram insurgency] alone accounted for 1.8 million displaced persons.
While the military continues to battle the terrorists, there have been several cases of mass killing of civilians.
For instance, the New Humanitarian documented how the military, in 2021, invaded Bula Ali village in Borno State where they killed at least eight civilians, including minors they suspected to be affiliated with Boko Haram insurgents. The village had experienced a similar military invasion three times before. The military, however, declined to comment when the newspaper confronted it with its findings.
Also, a HumAngle investigation showed that many civilians who went missing in Borno State are believed to be victims of extrajudicial killings and clandestine mass burials by the military and its local ally, the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).
Outside the war against Boko Haram and its splinter groups, the Nigerian military has also targeted civilians in the North-west and North-central regions of the country including the Tudun Biri bombing.
This correlates with what the ICC said in one of its reports.
“The Office has examined information regarding a wide range of alleged crimes committed on the territory of Nigeria since 2010. While the Office’s preliminary examination has primarily focused on alleged crimes committed by Boko Haram since July 2009 and by the Nigerian Security Forces since the beginning of the non-international armed conflict between the Nigerian Security Forces and Boko Haram since June 2011, it has also examined alleged crimes falling outside the context of this conflict,” the ICC said.
READ ALSO:FIRS opens recruitment for experienced professionals in tax, ICT, other roles
However, it raised concerns about the existence and genuineness of national proceedings regarding these crimes. Because of this, it re-emphasised that it may be forced to take charge of the investigation.
One such killing that attracted the ICC’s attention was the mass killing of Shiites in Kaduna State.
In December 2015, soldiers of the Nigerian Army in the convoy of former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, had a face-off with Shiite members in Kaduna State who blocked a public road. Soldiers later carried out attacks on the Shiites in their homes and places of worship within a three-day perdiod. A year later, a public inquiry by the state government indicted the Nigerian Army for killing more than 300 Shiite members and dumping their bodies in a mass grave.
“The Nigerian Army used excessive force,” the 193-page report which has now been deleted from the website of Kaduna State, said.
The investigating panel recommended that “steps should immediately be taken to identify the members of the NA (Nigerian Army) who participated in the killings … with a view to prosecuting them.”
Specifically, the report indicted the former General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army’s 1st Division, Adeniyi Oyebade, who allegedly deployed soldiers to carry out such a large-scale operation without recourse to the chain of command.
Nine years after the killings, there is no evidence that the military has taken action against its officers who perpetrated the act. No soldier has been tried or convicted for the killings.
Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
