by Panshak Ibrahim
President Goodluck Jonathan has asserted that the Nigerian military would try as much as possible to avoid human rights abuses against civilians in the ongoing operation against Boko Haram.
Jonathan gave the reassurance on Tuesday, March 3, while receiving the new South Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Noh Kyu-Duk.
The president stated that: “We are sticking to international best practices in prosecuting the war against terrorism and doing our best to ensure that we don’t have cases of human rights abuses in the North-east.”
“We are consistently monitoring the situation and have investigated previous reports of such abuse which were mostly blown out of proportion for political reasons. Our military has a reputation for discipline and we have insisted on that discipline and control for the safety of civilians in the North-east.”
“The purpose of the entire operation is to save our people from the brutal tyranny of Boko Haram, so we cannot tolerate human rights abuses or willfully impose further suffering on them.”
Jonathan added: “We are inviting all our friends in the international community, particularly those that are more technologically advanced, to complement our efforts to build a more secure and prosperous country in which our people and foreigners can live in peace and safety.”
