Since the beginning of 2015, Boko Haram has killed at least 3,500 people, Amnesty International has disclosed.
The global human rights watchdog said despite advances by the military, attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger had claimed the lives of at least 1,600 people since the start of June.
A statement on Wednesday by AI said the United Nations Human Rights Council was discussing a report on the bloody conflict.
Amnesty International’s Africa Director for Research and Advocacy, Netsanet Belay said “The number of people killed so far this year is truly shocking with more than 3,500 civilian fatalities in less than 300 days”.
“Governments in affected countries must take all necessary legal measures to ensure the security of civilians in affected areas”, the statement added.
As the UNHRC discusses violations and abuses allegedly committed in the course of the conflict, AI renewed its calls for adequate protection of civilians from Boko Haram attacks.
It also called for urgent and thorough investigations of serious human rights violations allegedly committed by the security forces, insisting that the Federal Government had yet to probe incidences of alleged human rights violations by the military.
“Following the publication of an Amnesty International report on June 3, President Buhari pledged to investigate evidence that Nigerian military forces have committed serious human rights violations, war crimes and acts which may constitute crimes against humanity. To date, no investigation has begun.
“It is nearly four months to the day since President Buhari vowed to investigate the serious crimes under international law which Amnesty International highlighted in its report”, Belay stated, stressing that thousands of victims were still waiting for justice.
