The United Nations on Friday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate reports of horrifying crimes by the Boko Haram sect and alleged abuses by the Nigerian Army.
The military has engaged in a long war against the insurgent group, which has killed and displaced tens of thousands of Nigerians as a result of its activities, especially in the North-East.
A top human rights official of the UN, Zeid Al-Hussein, said he had many times received reports of allegations of mass executions, rape and amputations of children by Boko Haram, but suggested that there were abuses and violations of human rights committed by the military in the course of fighting the sect.
An international non-governmental organisation which focuses on human rights, Amnesty International, had also called on President Buhari during the week and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands to investigate some former and serving Nigerian service chiefs for war crimes.
The crimes, according to AI, were perpetrated during the fight against Boko Haram in the North-East between March 2011 and 2014.
The rights group had outlined the roles and possible criminal responsibilities of those along the chain of command – up to the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army Staff.
Al-Hussein was quoted in a report by Reuters that there were also reports that the Nigerian Army had mistreated people detained on suspicion of belonging to the group.
“Civilians in North-East 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,” he said Agency report
