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LequteMan
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Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Major General Yusuf Buratai, on Tuesday appeared before a Special Investigative Panel over killing of Shiite muslims in Zaria.
The panel was constituted by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, to probe circumstances leading to the bloody clash between the Nigerian Army and the Shiite Muslim sect.
Buratai, who arrived at the commission around 11:30am amid tight security, insisted that the Army acted within its rules of engagement.
He said the Army, having sworn to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria, would always stand against agents of anarchy that do not want rules and regulations or law and order to prevail in the society.
“It is not in the best interest of the nation for such lawless acts to be condoned or for the Army to be unnecessarily condemned in the media. If the Army is ridiculed, then we are not doing our country any service. We must support the Army. We are facing a very serious challenge right now, which is our fight against insurgency.
“With what we have seen, if the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is allowed to move and operate freely the way it has been doing, the Boko Haram challenge will be a child’s play,” Buratai added.
“No society will develop where lawlessness, peace and tranquillity of the average citizen is being trampled upon,” he said.
The COAS said his officers would furnish the NHRC probe panel with sufficient evidence, including videos and photographs, showing how members of the Shiite sect attacked his convoy.
The COAS said he appeared before the NHRC due to his respect for human rights.
Vanguard
The panel was constituted by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, to probe circumstances leading to the bloody clash between the Nigerian Army and the Shiite Muslim sect.
Buratai, who arrived at the commission around 11:30am amid tight security, insisted that the Army acted within its rules of engagement.
He said the Army, having sworn to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria, would always stand against agents of anarchy that do not want rules and regulations or law and order to prevail in the society.
“It is not in the best interest of the nation for such lawless acts to be condoned or for the Army to be unnecessarily condemned in the media. If the Army is ridiculed, then we are not doing our country any service. We must support the Army. We are facing a very serious challenge right now, which is our fight against insurgency.
“With what we have seen, if the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is allowed to move and operate freely the way it has been doing, the Boko Haram challenge will be a child’s play,” Buratai added.
“No society will develop where lawlessness, peace and tranquillity of the average citizen is being trampled upon,” he said.
The COAS said his officers would furnish the NHRC probe panel with sufficient evidence, including videos and photographs, showing how members of the Shiite sect attacked his convoy.
The COAS said he appeared before the NHRC due to his respect for human rights.
Vanguard
