Although relative peace has returned to northeastern Nigeria, Amnesty International’s Report on Human Rights Violations (2021/2022) and two books unveiled on Monday, September 5, by the University of Maiduguri, reveal that incessant crimes under international law and serious human rights violations are still rife in the area – and they are being committed not only by the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS) and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), but also by the federal state’s security forces.
The University of Maiduguri’s Centre for Peace, Diplomatic and Development Studies unveiled the two books, “Security and Human Rights Challenges in Nigeria” and “Nigerian Media Narratives on Security and Human Rights in Parts of the North”, in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, last Monday.
Abubakar Mu’azu, director of the centre, said the books covered the activities of JAS, better known as Boko Haram, insurgents in the northeast, herder/farmer clashes, and ethno-religious crises in the Plateau and Kaduna states. They also highlighted issues of national security and human rights violations.
Mu’azu said the centre secured a grant from the MacArthur Foundation in 2012 to research security challenges and human rights violations committed by the JAS in the Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jos and Kaduna states. But the centre was unable to implement the project in 2012 because of the intensity of attacks on police stations, markets, mosques and churches.
“We appealed to the foundation to give us a no-cost extension. They were gracious enough to grant this because they recognised that we had to survive if we were to conduct the research and there was no legitimate reason to put anyone’s life at stake.
“While we waited for the situation to improve, the security challenges in the northern parts of the country escalated. Rural banditry emerged in Zamfara State due to limited security, particularly the police. Kidnapping surfaced. And we were worried that the right to life was being challenged and we needed to investigate these issues.”
The centre conducted a series of policy dialogues with the police, civil defence and vigilantes, such as the Civilian Joint Task Forces, and civil society organisations, including the Nigerian Bar Association, before it started the project to ensure that the rights of Nigerians were not being trampled upon when security challenges were being tackled.
Haruna Ayuba, the programme coordinator of the centre, said: “These books are a compendium of the aftermath of the counterinsurgency exercise in the northern part of Nigeria. And it’s evident that since 2009 to date, the northern part of the country has experienced insecurity challenges in the form of the insurgency, banditry, farmers/herder conflicts and cattle rustling. So, it’s a compendium of all the security challenges faced in the north.
“We would like the information contained in these books to inform all citizens about the violations and abuses of human rights that are taking place, even now, in the north. We hope all stakeholders will give their views on how to mitigate such human rights abuses and violations. We want the public to know about the actions committed by some individuals in the security forces’ counterinsurgency operations.
“The centre has published several books in relation to the developmental aspect of Nigeria as a whole, and more specifically on northern Nigeria, with a special focus on the northeast zone. So, we have books on development and other aspects but not on security and human rights specifically.”
Ayuba said it had taken several years of research to finally get the books published.
“It took us so long due, mostly, to insecurity challenges because at times we could not move from one place to another without putting ourselves in serious danger. But although they took time, we think the end result is good.
“We believe these books on security and human rights will be very important for several agencies and institutions of the government, as well as stakeholders in the security architecture in this country. The books will enlighten them about what they should do and how they should go about dealing with security challenges in relation to human rights in Nigeria.”
He said researchers had encountered limitations in terms of movement because of heightened insecurity tension in some parts of northern Nigeria. A challenge that still existed today, he said, was that some areas could not be reached because of the ongoing insecurity.
Ayuba said the centre and its financial partners would have to decide whether the books would be sold. When that decision was made, the centre would make an announcement.
Kole Shettima, director of the MacArthur Foundation based in Abuja, said there was no single solution to the ongoing security challenges in the north, adding that the books would contribute greatly to understanding the challenges the security operatives faced and the human rights abuses that sometimes occurred when tackling insecurity in the country.
“The different opinions gathered in the books can help to reduce national security issues without infringing upon the rights of civilians.”
Amnesty International’s Report on Human Rights Violations (2021/2022) said that armed groups as well as security forces continued to commit crimes under international law and serious human rights violations in northeastern Nigeria.
“Armed groups abducted and killed hundreds of civilians. Government forces also carried out indiscriminate attacks against civilians during counterinsurgency efforts,” it said.
Throughout 2021, the Borno state governor carried out forced resettlements of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and closures of IDP camps. More than 3,494 people died in inter-communal violence and bandit attacks, and more than 5,290 people were abducted for ransom by bandits and other gunmen.
The organisation said the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and association were routinely violated. Journalists and activists were arrested or questioned for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Law enforcement agents used excessive force to disperse protests, sometimes leading to deaths. Hundreds of people who demonstrated against the security forces in 2020 remained in detention.
The right to health was undermined by the authorities and health workers resorted to striking. The authorities forcibly evicted thousands of people from their homes.
It said the JAS and ISWAP had ambushed and killed many members of Nigeria’s security forces.
Education institutions were targeted by gunmen, forcing school closures.
“At least 855 students were abducted for ransom in seven states in 10 separate attacks. Most of the students were freed after ransoms were paid; however, some were killed by their abductors and others died in crossfire during attacks.”
It said armed groups, including JAS and ISWAP, continued to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in the northeast, killing and abducting civilians, looting property and committing rape and other sexual violence against women and girls. They carried out at least 30 attacks, killing more than 123 civilians.
Aid workers and humanitarian facilities were targeted by armed groups during attacks, it said, which had resulted in many of them suspending their operations in the area.
The organisation said as the security forces intensified counterinsurgency operations, gross human rights violations and crimes under international law – including extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions – were recorded.
Torture and other ill-treatment remained pervasive within the criminal justice system. The police, military and the department of state security (DSS) continued to subject detainees to torture, as well as other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Amnesty International received credible reports that security agencies, including officials from the police and DSS, carried out arbitrary detentions and kept detainees incommunicado.
Security agencies used excessive force to disperse peaceful protests and assemblies. Their repressive campaign also included mass arrests, excessive and unlawful force, and subjecting detainees to torture and other ill-treatment.
It said forced evictions continued unabated despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Women were still being subjected to sexual and gender-based violence by agents of the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
In October, the governor of Borno state announced a plan to close all IDP camps by December 31. During the year, some IDP camps in Maiduguri were forcefully closed and internally displaced people were resettled in areas that continued to suffer attacks by members of the JAS.
Amnesty International said courts continued to issue death sentences, though no executions were carried out. But in July, last year, the minister of the interior called on state governors to sign the death warrants of the 3,008 prisoners awaiting execution, as part of measures to reduce prison populations nationwide.
SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO
