PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to drag Boko Haram before the International Criminal Court by the United Nations as well as investigate war crimes by Nigerian soldiers.
United Nations top human rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein said that President Buhari should investigate reports of horrifying crimes by Boko Haram Islamist rebels and alleged abuses by the military. He added that he had seen allegations of mass executions, rape and amputations of children by Boko Haram.
There were also reports Nigeria's armed forces had mistreated people detained on suspicion of belonging to the group. It has been suggested that President Buhari should grant Boko Haram an amnesty to end the insurgency by the UN believes that those involved in committing atrocities must be made to account for their crimes.
Mr Al-Hussein said: “Civilians in northeast Nigeria have been living through horrifying acts of cruelty and violence by Boko Haram. These include wanton killings, summary executions, forced participation in military operations, including the use of children to detonate bombs, forced labour, forced marriage and sexual violence, including rape.”
“We have reports of children who were suspected of theft and had their hands amputated, of a man stoned to death on accusations of fornication, mass executions of captives whose hands and legs were bound and who were dumped into rivers and wells. Also, at least 1,000 people, possibly many more, were brutally killed by Boko Haram in Mararaba Madagali in Adamawa State in late 2014."
President Buhari, who was sworn in a week ago, said that Nigeria’s army will take a bigger role in the effort to crush Boko Haram, by taking over from soldiers from Niger in occupying towns liberated from the Islamist militant group. He has already held meetings with the presidents of Niger and Chad to discuss the crisis.
According to Mr Al-Hussein, citing eyewitness testimony gathered by his office on atrocities, insurgents asked villagers in Kwajafa in Borno state in April to gather to hear them preach and when they were assembled, Boko Haram opened fire. He added that there were also extremely worrying reports about the conduct of Nigerian armed forces, with one man testifying about his ordeal when he was mistaken for a Boko Haram member and detained by the military in Yola in Adamawa State.
“When the villagers gathered, the insurgents opened fire. The UN Human Rights Office has also received a video recording of an execution, allegedly of a girl who refused to convert to Islam.
"As per the man arrested on suspicion of being a member of Boko Haram, he said he spent five days without food or water, as detainees drank the urine of others to quench their thirst. He claimed that there was an average of five deaths per day in the facility," Mr Al-Hussein added.
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