The United States has accused the
Federal Government of Nigeria of murdering citizens.
US said the current
administration and its agents were committing arbitrary and unlawful killings.
This was contained in a recent
report entitled, “2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” published on
the Department of State website.
It said: “The national police,
army, and other security services used lethal and excessive force to disperse
protesters and apprehend criminals and suspects and committed other
extrajudicial killings. Authorities generally did not hold police, military, or
other security force personnel accountable for the use of excessive or deadly
force or for the deaths of persons in custody. State and federal panels of
inquiry investigating suspicious deaths generally did not make their findings
public.
“In August 2017 the acting
president convened a civilian-led presidential investigative panel to review
compliance of the armed forces with human rights obligations and rules of
engagement, and the panel submitted its findings in February. As of November no
portions of the report had been made public.
“As of September, there were no
reports of the federal government further investigating or holding individuals
accountable for the 2015 killing and subsequent mass burial of members of the
Shia group Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and other civilians by Nigerian
Army (NA) forces in Zaria, Kaduna State.
“In 2016 the government of Kaduna
made public the Kaduna State judicial commission’s nonbinding report, which
found the NA used “excessive and disproportionate” force during the 2015
altercations in which 348 IMN members and one soldier died. The commission
recommended the federal government conduct an independent investigation and
prosecute anyone found to have acted unlawfully.
“It also called for the
proscription of the IMN and the monitoring of its members and their activities.
In 2016 the government of Kaduna State published a white paper that included
acceptance of the commission’s recommendation to investigate and prosecute
allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by the NA.
“As of September, however, there
was no indication that authorities had held any members of the NA accountable
for the events in Zaria. It also accepted the recommendation to hold IMN leader
Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky responsible for all illegal acts committed by IMN
members during the altercations and in the preceding 30 years.
“In 2016 a federal court declared
the continued detention without charge of Zakzaky and his wife illegal and
unconstitutional. The court ordered their release by January 2017. The federal
government did not comply with this order, and Zakzaky, his spouse, and other
IMN members remained in detention.
“In April the Kaduna State
government charged Zakzaky in state court with multiple felonies stemming from
the death of the soldier at Zaria. The charges include culpable homicide, which
can carry the death penalty.
“As of December the case was
pending. In July a Kaduna High Court dismissed charges of aiding and abetting
culpable homicide against more than 80 IMN members. As of September the Kaduna
State government had appealed the ruling. Approximately 100 additional IMN
members remained in detention.
“In October security forces
killed 45 IMN members that were participating in processions and protests,
according to Amnesty International (AI).
“In January AI reported that the
Nigerian Air Force used excessive force in responding to intercommunal violence
in December 2017 in Numan local government area (LGA) in Adamawa State.
According to the report, hundreds of herdsmen attacked eight villages in
Adamawa in response to a massacre by farming communities of up to 51 herders,
mostly children, in Kikan village the previous month.
“The Nigerian Air Force said it
responded at the request of relevant security agencies for show of force
flights to disperse the “hoodlums” engaged in ransacking and burning villages,
and subsequently aimed to shoot in front of crowds to deter them from attacking
Numan. AI reported that the Air Force response resulted in a fire and
destruction in the town, and that Air Force rockets and bullets hit civilian
buildings directly and resulted in multiple civilian deaths.
“The report also stated it was
not possible to establish conclusively how much of the death and destruction
was attributable to the Air Force’s actions and how much to the concurrent
attack by herdsmen. The Air Force denied the claims in a statement but
reportedly ordered an investigation. As of September it was unclear if the
investigation had been concluded.
“In January 2017 the air force
mistakenly bombed an informal internally displaced persons (IDP) settlement in
Rann, Borno State, which resulted in the killing and injuring of more than 100
civilians and humanitarian workers. Army personnel also were injured. The
government and military leaders publicly assumed responsibility for the strike
and launched an investigation.
“The air force conducted its own
internal investigation, but as of December the government had not made public
its findings. No air force or army personnel were known to have been held
accountable for their roles in the event. There were reports of arbitrary and
unlawful killings related to internal conflicts in the Northeast and other
areas.”
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