Sen. Ndume To Amnesty International, ICC: Leave Nigerian Army Alone

Chairman Senate Committee on Army, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume
(Borno South) on Tuesday called on the Amnesty International (AI)
and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to leave the Nigerian
military alone over alleged incidents of human rights abuses.

Ndume made this assertion while answering questions from
reporters in Abuja on allegations of human rights abuses against
the Nigerian Military by AI and the ICC.

He urged the Nigerian troops to ignore what he termed as
distraction by the two international organizations and concentrate
on their task of fighting insurgency in the country.

Ndume said: “On the issue of unnecessary interference by Amnesty
International and the International Criminal Court and other
self-acclaimed celebrities and social media influencers who claimed
to be patriotic Nigerians.

“We that have been living with these problems, and as leaders of
the affected communities, know the feelings of our people.

“Right now, what the ICC is trying to do is destroying things
instead of helping matters.

“You cannot cry more than the bereaved and they cannot be the
prosecutor without the plaintiff. How can they prosecute without
the plaintiff?

“We have the Nigerian government, the federal parliament and the
nation’s judiciary. If there are human rights abuses, it is only
when there is a failure on the part of the three arms of government
to act swiftly that we can draw the attention of the international
community to it.

“Nigerians are more concerned about securing their country. The
Nigerian Army and the police are overwhelmed already.

“Honestly, we will stand up against that. We are not encouraging
human rights abuses, we can’t say there are no such things but they
are definitely, isolated cases especially when the Boko Haram
insurgency reached its peak in 2014.

“There was a kind of confusion that led to the isolated cases of
human rights abuses by the Nigerian Army and some of the armed
forces.

“However, we stood up against it that time and that led to some
soldiers’ court martialed for human rights abuses. Some were even
dismissed from the Army.

“For example, for involving in rape cases. It is not that the
Nigerian Army is not doing anything about it.

“There is a department known as civil-military relations,
created by the Nigerian Army to address such cases and they are
doing well.

“The power of investigation lies with the National Assembly.
Nigerians know where they would report cases of human rights abuses
to in case it happens anywhere.

@Let the Amnesty International and others leave us alone. These
are the same international organisations that refused to give us
support needed to fight the insurgency.

“The same international organisations also refused to refer to
Boko Haram as a terrorist organization but rather prefer to refer
to the insurgents as non m-state actors.

“I don’t know what they mean by that. As a parliament and as the
representatives of our people, we won’t tolerate that.

“Our troops should ignore such things and concentrate on
securing our country. If the international agencies want to help
us, they should provide sophisticated equipment to address the
issue.

“As the Chairman, Senate Committee on Army is thinking of
bringing a motion to the floor of the Senate to address this
particular matter and write to the particular organization to leave
us alone.

“Or if they want, let them tell us where human rights abuses
exist in the country. They should stop distracting and threatening
our gallant troops that have sacrificed their lives to defend the
country.

“As representatives of the people, the Nigerian parliamentarians
are solidly behind our military on this issue.”

He lauded the cooperation between the Nigerian Army and the
Nigeria Air Force that led to the success recorded against Boko
Haram insurgents in Borno State recently.

He said: “I want to thank the Nigerian military especially the
Army and the Air Force. My investigation reveals that were it not
for the presence of the Air Force, the success recorded would not
have been achieved.

“That is why I want to emphasis the need for cooperation between
the Army and other armed forces to continue.

“I want them to also improve on their response to any alarm or
alert from any member of the public.

“What happened that day was that a citizen of Askira called me
around 5pm and also sent a text message to alert me of a large
gathering of Boko Haram insurgents in about 10 trucks heading
towards Askira.

“He urged me to do something urgently about it. I quickly
forwarded the text message to the Chief of Army Staff and that of
the Chief of Air Staff.

“The two of them responded quickly and assured me that they were
monitoring the situation.

“There was a coordinated effort between the Air Force, from
their base in Yola and there was reinforcement from the Brigade in
Chibok.

“There is also another battalion that is operating in Adamawa.
They converged to address the situation and they recorded a
tremendous success because many of the insurgents were killed while
arms and ammunition were recovered from them.

“The Army and the Air Force combined to pursue the insurgents
until they neutralise them. If they continue like this, cases of
incessant attacks by insurgents in that area will stop it.

“I also want to commend the civilian JTF and the vigilante
groups because all of them worked together to record that
success.”

Chairman Senate Committee on Army, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume
(Borno South) on Tuesday called on the Amnesty International (AI)
and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to leave the Nigerian
military alone over alleged incidents of human rights abuses.

Ndume made this assertion while answering questions from
reporters in Abuja on allegations of human rights abuses against
the Nigerian Military by AI and the ICC.

He urged the Nigerian troops to ignore what he termed as
distraction by the two international organizations and concentrate
on their task of fighting insurgency in the country.

Ndume said: “On the issue of unnecessary interference by Amnesty
International and the International Criminal Court and other
self-acclaimed celebrities and social media influencers who claimed
to be patriotic Nigerians.

“We that have been living with these problems, and as leaders of
the affected communities, know the feelings of our people.

“Right now, what the ICC is trying to do is destroying things
instead of helping matters.

“You cannot cry more than the bereaved and they cannot be the
prosecutor without the plaintiff. How can they prosecute without
the plaintiff?

“We have the Nigerian government, the federal parliament and the
nation’s judiciary. If there are human rights abuses, it is only
when there is a failure on the part of the three arms of government
to act swiftly that we can draw the attention of the international
community to it.

“Nigerians are more concerned about securing their country. The
Nigerian Army and the police are overwhelmed already.

“Honestly, we will stand up against that. We are not encouraging
human rights abuses, we can’t say there are no such things but they
are definitely, isolated cases especially when the Boko Haram
insurgency reached its peak in 2014.

“There was a kind of confusion that led to the isolated cases of
human rights abuses by the Nigerian Army and some of the armed
forces.

“However, we stood up against it that time and that led to some
soldiers’ court martialed for human rights abuses. Some were even
dismissed from the Army.

“For example, for involving in rape cases. It is not that the
Nigerian Army is not doing anything about it.

“There is a department known as civil-military relations,
created by the Nigerian Army to address such cases and they are
doing well.

“The power of investigation lies with the National Assembly.
Nigerians know where they would report cases of human rights abuses
to in case it happens anywhere.

@Let the Amnesty International and others leave us alone. These
are the same international organisations that refused to give us
support needed to fight the insurgency.

“The same international organisations also refused to refer to
Boko Haram as a terrorist organization but rather prefer to refer
to the insurgents as non m-state actors.

“I don’t know what they mean by that. As a parliament and as the
representatives of our people, we won’t tolerate that.

“Our troops should ignore such things and concentrate on
securing our country. If the international agencies want to help
us, they should provide sophisticated equipment to address the
issue.

“As the Chairman, Senate Committee on Army is thinking of
bringing a motion to the floor of the Senate to address this
particular matter and write to the particular organization to leave
us alone.

“Or if they want, let them tell us where human rights abuses
exist in the country. They should stop distracting and threatening
our gallant troops that have sacrificed their lives to defend the
country.

“As representatives of the people, the Nigerian parliamentarians
are solidly behind our military on this issue.”

He lauded the cooperation between the Nigerian Army and the
Nigeria Air Force that led to the success recorded against Boko
Haram insurgents in Borno State recently.

He said: “I want to thank the Nigerian military especially the
Army and the Air Force. My investigation reveals that were it not
for the presence of the Air Force, the success recorded would not
have been achieved.

“That is why I want to emphasis the need for cooperation between
the Army and other armed forces to continue.

“I want them to also improve on their response to any alarm or
alert from any member of the public.

“What happened that day was that a citizen of Askira called me
around 5pm and also sent a text message to alert me of a large
gathering of Boko Haram insurgents in about 10 trucks heading
towards Askira.

“He urged me to do something urgently about it. I quickly
forwarded the text message to the Chief of Army Staff and that of
the Chief of Air Staff.

“The two of them responded quickly and assured me that they were
monitoring the situation.

“There was a coordinated effort between the Air Force, from
their base in Yola and there was reinforcement from the Brigade in
Chibok.

“There is also another battalion that is operating in Adamawa.
They converged to address the situation and they recorded a
tremendous success because many of the insurgents were killed while
arms and ammunition were recovered from them.

“The Army and the Air Force combined to pursue the insurgents
until they neutralise them. If they continue like this, cases of
incessant attacks by insurgents in that area will stop it.

“I also want to commend the civilian JTF and the vigilante
groups because all of them worked together to record that
success.”