Some civil society activists and military officers have advised the government of Nigeria to reduce the interference of the military in situations that should be handled by other security outfits.
The advice was given at the State and Civil Society Actors Conference on the Intersection of National Security and the Civic Space in Nigeria held in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Whiteink Institute for Strategy Education and Research (WISER), in collaboration with the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), hosted the conference.
Till date, the military is carrying out operations in 34 of the 36 states that make up Africa’s most populous nation as the country battles insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other security challenges.
However, several cases of human rights violation by the military have been reported by some Nigerians and civil society organisations.
In a 2020 Amnesty International (AI) report report, My Heart Is In Pain: Older people’s experience of conflict, displacement, and detention in Northeast Nigeria, the rights group alleged that many elderlies were being held unlawfully in detention by the military for simply being related to alleged Boko Haram members.
A professor and senior fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Jibrin Ibrahim, argued that the military’s rules of engagement might not be suitable for the new role thrust upon them.
‘Given the huge security challenges facing the country, it is important that Nigeria as a nation devises effective strategies that will stem the insurgency and create conditions for the protection of human rights and the deepening of democracy’, he said while presenting his paper.
‘The armed forces have a significant role to play in this regard. Nigerians are particularly concerned about the rules of engagement for military operations within the civilian population.
‘There are military operations in virtually all states of the country. This means that the normal process of police being in charge of internal security issues no longer operates’.
He further said that it was important in this context to publish, debate and revise the rules of engagement to ensure that they are in conformity with human rights principles.
‘Finally, we cannot give up on the police. We must expand the police, train them and build their capacity for effective law enforcement’, he added.
Also speaking, a Nigerian Army Major-General, Godwin Omelo, decried the proliferation of military operations across the country.
‘Too much familiarity breeds contempt overtime. Very soon, the military will be doing the work of the police. If the military loses that aura, there will be a problem’, he said.
‘I [do not] support military operations in 34 states out of the 36 states’.
The military official advised that other law enforcement agencies be strengthened to discharge their responsibility.
Source: Premium Times
Photo source: Nigerian Army
