Tag Archives: Army Chief

Human Rights Abuse: Army Chief, Amnesty International Hold Talks

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The Chief of Army Staff in Nigeria, General Tukur Buratai, on Thursday told a delegation from the Amnesty International that the military is making conscious effort to check human rights abuse by officers.

General Buratai’s statement is made in response to accusations by the rights advocacy group that personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces carried out extra-judicial executions.

According to Amnesty International, about 20,000 cases of extra-judicial executions had occurred in Nigeria since 2012.

The Director Of Research Africa, Amnesty International, Netsanet Belay, told General Buratai that there was a serious concern that Nigeria needed to address.

“Its military is implicated in committing serious forms of war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.

“We have looked into various aspects of this. We have documented over 20,000 cases of extra-judicial executions and we believe that over 1,200 men and boys may have been extra-judicial executed since 2012.

But General Buratai insisted that officers were trained to discharge their responsibilities professionally.

He told the group that the Nigerian Army had set up an internal Human Rights Desk to receive reports of human rights violation by officers.

“Before the establishment of the Human Rights Desk in the Army Headquarters, we had established a contact group between the Nigerian Army and the National Human Rights Commission. All issues of human rights that have been forwarded to the attention of the Nigerian Army we have investigated them and followed them to their logical conclusions.

“Similarly, all the issues that were brought to the Army, where human rights were alleged to have been violated, we have equally investigate them,” the Army chief told the human rights advocacy group.

He assured members of the public, the local and international human rights bodies that the Nigerian Army, under his leadership, would investigate all complaints of human rights violation brought before it.

Credit: ChannelsTv

How Nigerian Troops, Boko Haram Clashed In Army Chief’s Village

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Boko Haram gunmen launched a dawn raid Saturday on the hometown of Nigeria’s army chief, triggering a fierce gunbattle with troops, residents of a nearby village to which people fled the clashes said.

There was no immediate report of casualties in the fighting in Buratai in Borno state, the home village of Tukur Yusuf Buratai, Nigeria’s top army officer.

Abubakar Umar, a resident of the nearby hamlet of Miringa, told AFP that the fighting began at 5:00 am after Boko Haram insurgents attacked the village.

“At one point we could hear explosions coming from the direction of Buratai,” he said.

Troops reinforcements from a military base in the town of Biu, 30 kilometres from Buratai, were seen passing through Miringa.

“Nine trucks conveying soldiers and another four carrying local hunters drove through our village towards Buratai and from what we hear more are on their way,” said Shitu Ayuba, another resident.

Some Buratai residents had fled to Miringa, where they took shelter in a primary school, locals said.

Credit: AFP

Army Chief Visits Newly Deployed Troops In Borno

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The Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Yusuf Buratai, on Monday visited the newly deployed troops of the 29 Task force Brigade at Benisheik and Gamdu towns of Kaga Local Government Areas of Borno State in north-east Nigeria.

While addressing the two brigades, the Chief of Army Staff told the troops, who are “better armed and trained”, to defeat the Boko Haram, describing the insurgents as ‘ill equipped’.

The Army Chief said the Nigerian Army had no excuse not to defeat the Boko Haram terrorists and assured the soldiers that they would get every necessary support from the government.

He stressed that their deployment to the area was strategic to the success of the operation against the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists.

“With the morale of the troops I have seen so far, you are good to go. I want to congratulate all of you for being part of this operation because Nigerians are watching and waiting for you to finish up these criminals called Boko Haram.

“Your deployment here is strategic to the success of this operation and you have to be alert and focused at all times,” Buratai cautioned.

The Army Chief assured the troops that all their logistics problems were being addressed and urged them to be loyal and obedient to their superior authorities without which no meaningful progress would be achieved.

Credit: ChannelsTV