By Olayemi Esan
The Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Magashi (retd) on Thursday rejected accusations of human rights violations levelled against the country by the International Community against its fighting forces in the on-going Counter Terrorism Operations in the North East.
General Magashi refuted this allegation when the United States Acting Ambassador to Nigeria, Kathleen FitzGibbon visited the Ship House Ministry of Defence Headquarters in Abuja during a courtesy call.
A statement by Mohammad Abdulkadri, Special Assistant to the Minister of Defence on Media and Publicity, said Magashi told FitzGibbon that the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari is a stickler to the domestic and International laws that forbid abuse of human rights.
He also said Nigerian troops are guided in their operations by the extant laws of the land as enshrined in the Constitution and rules of engagements as well as Acts and other laws to warrant any form of abuse.
While being emphatic that the Nigerian military will not renege on her avowed compliance to the rule of law in a democratic environment, and its commitment to defending the national interest, Magashi asked rhetorically what else should Nigeria do to protect human rights.
The Minister however thanked the US Africa Command, AFRICOM and the US Office of the Defence Cooperation for the delivery of the NAF Super Tulcano aircraft and the training of NAF pilots and engineers.
FitzGibbon pledged continued support to Nigeria, adding that the remaining six Super Tulcano will arrive the country by September next month.
She expressed happiness with the progress Nigeria has made in fighting insurgency and the nation’s compliance with protocols.
The US envoy thanked the Minister for the audience and agreed plan to reconvene another meeting soonest to consider various documents before the Ministry of Defence, touching on the way forward for the promotions of Human Rights and Child Protection Act among other areas of common concerns to the two countries.
