No week passes without the sounds of blasts and explosions ripping through various parts of the town, leaving in its trail a cesspool of blood and countless casualties. An Islamic sect, Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad popularly known as Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for most of the violent attacks that had targeted security officers, military facilities, community leaders and clerics in the northeastern part of the country. Equally worrying is that some of the attacks are purportedly being carried out with the connivance of fundamentalists from such radicalised nations as Sudan, Niger Republic and Somalia with the intent of destabilizing the nation and creating the impression of general insecurity. The Joint Task Force (JTF) constituted by the Federal Government of Nigeria in June 2011 to quell the Boko Haram insurgency in Maiduguri have also perpetrated massive human rights violations, by particularly launching direct attacks on civilians as prohibited under national and international law. This has resulted in a situation whereby the Boko Haram on one side and the JTF on the other side are now equally yoked in the gory killings and myriad of security challenges facing the state. Their clashes have left hundreds dead on both sides. The presence of the JTF in Maiduguri has also polarized the state, pitching the haves against the have-nots. While the non-muslims, persons engaged in formal employment and those living in the formal sections of the city insist on having military presence intensified in Maiduguri and environs, the inhabitants of slum and rural settlements such as Budum, Kaleri, Gomari and London Chiki are equally as vociferous in their call for the withdrawal of soldiers from the state.
The rising spate of insecurity and killings in the state has destroyed lives, businesses, deterred future investments, and frustrated important gains made in the realization of specific social and economic rights, especially the rights to housing, education, health, work and food in particular. Thousands have been thrown into the job market following the clampdown on motorcycle operators just as the productivity of the employed workforce has been considerably reduced due to constant panic and mounting insecurity. Security concerns have forced the closure of tertiary institutions like the University of Maiduguri and the Ramat Polytechnic. Not only that, the closure of schools, the death or forced relocation of parents have also seriously disrupted the education of youths and school children in Maiduguri.
Between July 24- 27, 2011, SERAC conducted a fact-finding mission to Maiduguri to gain a first-hand knowledge of the root of the instability plaguing the State, and document the social, economic and human rights abuses arising from the Boko Haram insurgency in particular. The mission forms part of a broader organizational strategy to gather and present useful information that can aid intelligence gathering and robust decision-making relating to a more effective security provisioning and human rights protection in Nigeria. During the mission, SERAC held extensive consultations with a cross section of state and federal officials, members of the Nigeria Police Force, the Joint Task Force (JTF) authorities, the civil society, representatives of national and international media, markets associations, traditional and educational institutions, corporate bodies, religious leaders, elder statesmen, residents, families and victims living in various communities, including Gomari, London Chiki, Kaleri, Budum where recent bomb blasts had occurred.
The mission established that the soldiers have employed the excessive use of force in carrying out its anti-insurgency operations. For instance, in response to a major bomb blast that had occurred in Budum community located near the palace of the Shehu of Borno in Maiduguri about 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 23, 2011 and wounded three soldiers, JTF personnel set 6 cars and shops numbering over 42 ablaze and shot directly at residents fleeing the scene of the blasts. Uniform narrative accounts shared by several eyewitnesses put the number of the wounded and dead between 23 and 45 persons. However, SERAC identified and visited the homes of one wounded victim and four persons allegedly killed by JTF soldiers: Late Mallam Goni Tijani,(55), Late Babakura Zakariya (18) Late Idris M, and the woman in whose shop the improvised explosive device (IED) was planted.
SERAC learned that victims are often forced out of their rooms before they are shot. Late Babakura Zakariya’s friends who witnessed his killing and his aged father tearfully told SERAC how JTF soldiers dragged the deceased out of his mother’s room onto the streets. He died on the spot after he was shot on the head, chest and waist by the soldiers. SERAC found that similar executions had happened in sub-urban Kaleri community near Osas Private School. Homes close to the site of the Kaleri blasts were raided and occupants allegedly murdered in cold blood. Although the Joint Task Force (JTF) authorities vehemently denied the arson and killings, the pattern of executions corresponds to its combat policy of designating any area used by the sect to perpetrate their operations as military targets. “Persons who allow their surroundings or frontage to be used by the Boko Haram sect to attack people or security agencies would be considered as collaborators, and will be treated as criminals,” JTF told SERAC.
Direct attacks on civilians are prohibited under national and international law and show a complete disregard for the right to life. Not only that, the soldiers brazenly violated not only the right to life and integrity of the person, but also, the right to human dignity and to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In very strong terms, SERAC condemns the alleged arson and killings by JTF personnel as well as the bombings by members of the Boko Haram sect.
The mission established that the mixture of impunity, the lack of accountability, dearth of political will and corruption continue to stand in the way of genuine efforts at building lasting peace in the region. The signature failure of the Nigerian authorities to address the legacy of past human rights violations by both military forces and ethnic insurgents offers little hope that such violations will not be repeated and prevents victims and survivors from reconciling and rebuilding their lives. Secondly, the total absence of transparent and accessible platforms that allow aggrieved people articulate their grievances and demand accountability has deepened hate lines and animosity between the government and the governed. Perhaps, most telling is that absolute mistrust, suspicion, and fear characterize the relationship between the security operatives and the civilian populations, undermining intelligence undertakings that would lead to the definite identification and extirpation of the sect’s members and activities.
SERAC is outraged to learn about what appears to be a selective compensation regime in Bornu State that has favoured muslims against non-muslims. This perception is fuelled by the Bornu State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima’s signature practice of hastily providing monetary compensation to victims of the crisis who live in predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods, and not extending the same magnanimity to non-Muslims whose relatives died or properties were destroyed in similar circumstances. SERAC calls upon the Federal Government of Nigeria to:
Immediately constitute an inclusive working group to serve as Emissaries of Northern Rebirth (ENR) comprised of Northern political and religious leaders, government and legislative officials, human rights and development leaders, reputable journalists, representatives of women and youth organizations drawn from all the Northern States. The group's main goal is to undertake a working assessment of the growing violent conflict in the region, facilitate true reconciliation, and develop a work plan for expanding democratic engagement and developmental progress in Northern Nigeria.
Take urgent and concrete measures towards reviewing and re-directing the operational methods, processes and procedures of the Joint Task Force to be in tune with the democratic environment and attributes of the rule of law, due process and respect for human rights. The review must be supported by a well thought-out strategy and timetable for the withdrawal of military troops in Maiduguri.
Conduct investigations into human rights violations perpetrated by both state and non state actors in Maiduguri since July 2009, especially by members of the Nigerian Police Force and the Joint Task Force, while ensuring that all indicted persons are held to account. Such an enquiry must ascertain the identity and number of ALL the victims, including civilians and security officers, who lost their lives and sources of livelihood in the Maiduguri crisis, ensuring that they receive adequate remedy, not limited to monetary compensation for the wrongs they suffered.
Constitute a special covert security squad comprising the most outstanding brains in intelligence that will undertake strategic, covert and vigorous surveillance operations nationwide in order to unearth the roots of terror and neutralize the propensity for enemy and insurgency attacks within and beyond borders. The team will be responsible for assessing all perceived existing and emerging threats to national security, and providing all-source intelligence gathering and analysis exclusively to the office of the president.
Greater awareness, education and capacity building are required to increase the capacity of religious, community and youth leaders to manage information, communicate and conduct negotiations on issues of concern to their communities through non-violent means. Emphasis should be placed on designing programs that promote learning in educationally disadvantaged States in northern Nigeria, training teachers, increasing community involvement and supporting infrastructure improvements for schools.
To guarantee and respect the rights of aggrieved persons to express themselves freely and to associate with others to contribute to development and public decision-making on social and economic policies and programs that affect them. Steps must be taken to improve the public grievance redressal system at the local, state and national-levels by strengthening the civil and criminal justice systems and enforcement mechanisms for addressing the serious violations of human rights.
Thank you.
Victoria Ohaeri
Program Coordinator
