North-East: DHQ Lambasts Amnesty
North-East: DHQ Lambasts Amnesty International over
Alleged Sexual Violation
The Defence Headquarters has taken note of yet another
ill-conceived report by Amnesty International (AI) aimed at
disparaging the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) in the fight against
terrorism and counter-insurgency in the North Eastern part of the
country.
The AI’s recent allegation that its investigation has revealed
sexual assaults in detention facilities at Giwa Barracks Maiduguri
and the Maiduguri Maximum Security Prison is only a rehash of its
characteristic unfounded and ill-conceived accusations against the
AFN.
While the AFN will not speak for the authorities of the
Maiduguri Maximum Prison, we wish to emphatically state that such
allegations are mere concoction of the organization and the
interest it seeks to represent. The report is nothing but an
attempt to push further its campaign of calumny against the AFN, as
the allegations are remotely impossible.
It is instructive for Amnesty International and their sponsors
who may be more interested in the failure of Nigeria in the ongoing
fight against terrorism and insurgency to note that these
accusations are unfounded and a very poor attempt at dampening the
morale of troops of the AFN.
The Giwa barracks detention facility is a national facility,
therefore, the suspects or inmates are jointly handled by
professional investigators drawn from the Defence Intelligence
Agency, Nigerian Police, Department of State Security, Nigeria
Immigration Service, the Nigeria Prisons Service and Nigerian
Security and Civil Defence Corps. It is therefore, near impossible
for these team of professionals to look the other way, while sexual
violations are perpetrated as wrongly insinuated by AI.
It is also pertinent to add that the detention facility has
adequate representation of highly professional members of
International Organisations and Non-Governmental Agencies such as
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other
reputable NGOs that have unfettered access to the facility and
scrutinize its activities from time to time in accordance with
international best practices in managing detainees.
While other reputable international organisations in the North
East and other parts of the country have been working to bring
about enduring peace in the North East, it is rather unfortunate
that AI has impenitently chosen a path that seeks to denigrate the
AFN, a task it has continued to pursue blindly and tenaciously
through its glaring bias reports.
The DHQ wishes to appeal to members of the public and the
international community to discountenance AI’s malicious report and
continue to give requisite support to the AFN in the fight against
terrorism, insurgency and other forms of criminality in the
country.
ONYEMA NWACHUKWU
Colonel
Acting Director Defence Information
………………………………………………
In another development, the Honourable Minister of Defence
(HMOD) Mansur Dan Ali has called on Chiefs of Naval Staff of
Nigeria and Pakistan to maximize the opportunities of existing
bilateral cooperation in order to tackle national security
challenges particularly in the maritime domain. The Minister made
the assertion this morning during the visit of the Pakistani Chief
of Naval Staff (PCNS) Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abassi to the Defence
Headquarters, Abuja.
Represented by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi
Gabriel Olonisakin, the Honourable Minister of Defence noted that
both Countries have a long standing bilateral relationship with
shared security threats ranging from terrorism to maritime
threats.
Mansur Dan Ali further observed that the envisaged bilateral
cooperation between the two Navies would be beneficial to the
countries towards building capacity for operational efficiency.
Speaking earlier, the PCNS, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abassi who is
on a two day working visit to the Nigerian Navy, said his country
places much value on her relationship with Nigeria, stressing that
there are opportunities for both countries to collaborate in
developing military synergy, with emphasis on the Navy
Accompanied by the Chief of Naval Staff Nigeria, Vice Admiral
Ibok-Ete Ibas, the PCNS remarked that he is in Nigeria to discuss
measures for mutual cooperation needed to strengthen both Navies in
tackling maritime security threats.
COLONEL ONYEMA NWACHUKWU
Acting Director Defence Information