The Federal Government has reassured the international community of its utmost commitment to human rights in the conduct of all her affairs including the counter insurgency operation against Boko Haram in the Northeast.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) gave the reassurance when he received a delegation from the office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, Madame Fatou Bensouda, in Abuja yesterday.
Malami also said the Nigerian Army had conducted its operations in the Northeast region of the country in a highly professional manner, with the best practices in the areas of international human rights and humanitarian law.
He also said he was aware of the eight case files opened against Nigeria at the ICC, which the prosecutor intends to investigate in her next stage of assessment of Nigeria.
According to the AGF, six of the alleged cases were committed by the Boko Haram sect while the remaining two were by the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“Let me reiterate that Nigeria retains the sovereign capacity to investigate and punish the alleged crimes referred to in the report and will therefore continue present efforts in the above direction”, he said.
Mr. Malami added that the federal government was committed to ensuring that troops are guided by the rules of engagement, promising that any infractions would not be treated lightly.
The minister, however, sought the support and understanding of the ICC and the international community, with regard to the conduct of the affairs of the Nigerian Armed Forces that have helped the world to deal with terrorism on the continent and restoring normalcy to the traumatized communities in the North-east.
The leader of delegation, Mr. Phakiso Mocho Choko, said Madame Bensouda did not intend to compromise the sovereign rights of Nigeria in investigating crimes and meting out punishment.
Mr. Choko noted that most cases referred to the ICC, were the ones host nations were unable to resolve through internal mechanisms.
