Army debunks amnesty report on dead civilians in detention

The army made the statement in a release by the Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar.

It says:

The Nigerian military has completely disassociated itself from the report of Amnesty International which claims that some civilians died in a detention cell at Giwa Barracks. 

The accusation comes as surprise and shock because the organisation has accessed the facilities and made recommendations which were implemented.

It is rather unfortunate that an organization of higher repute such as Amnesty International could come around to release a report which is completely baseless, unfounded and source-less with the intent of denting the image of the Nigerian Armed Forces. 

We would remain committed to the task we have started against the Boko Haram terrorists until they are annihilated.

We are calling on all well-meaning Nigerians and International Communities to discountenance this report as it has no iota of truth. 

The Nigerian Armed Forces uphold the tenets of observance of human right and dignity of lives of innocent individuals as enshrined in the Conventions and Charters of the United Nation which Nigeria is a signatory. 

This one sided report is defective in all intent and purpose and does not portray the sincerity of Amnesty International as well as reflecting the true situation in Giwa Barracks now.

Also in a separate release, the Army issued a statement on the Maiduguri suicide bombing on Wednesday which is quite in conflict with eyewitness reports.

In the statement titled “Another suicide bomber intercepted in Maiduguri” it states as follows:

This afternoon, combined team of Nigeria policemen maintaining security duties at the entrance of Borno State Government Secretariat, (which was known as Musa Usman Secretariat) in Maiduguri, intercepted and prevented a male suicide bomber from entering to attack workers based on suspicion.

Unfortunately, in the process of stopping him, he detonated the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on his body, instantly killing himself, a policeman and critically injuring another policeman that stopped him from gaining entry into the Secretariat Complex.

Sadly, the injured policeman died later. 

Similarly, 18 people have sustained various degrees of injuries and have since been evacuated to hospital for treatment.

Troops have cordoned off the area and evacuated all workers from the Secretariat and reinforced security.

In addition, the Explosive Ordinance Device (EOD) and K9 teams have been mobilized to the Secretariat for screening until it is declared safe.

This unfortunate incident has reinforced the need for more security consciousness and awareness on the part of all of us as the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists and their sympathizers still mingle with the society.

It therefore behooves on all and sundry to ensure that they are detected and prevented from carrying out their dastardly acts.

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