ICC report biased, subjective and unacceptable - Military

The Defence Headquarters on Saturday dismissed the report of the International Criminal Court, ICC which accused the military of war crimes in its fight against Boko Haram as biased, subjective and unacceptable.

It said that the ICC reached its conclusions without hearing from the Nigerian military, thus compromising the objectivity of its report.

The ICC which accused the military of arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and execution of Boko Haram suspects also alleged attacks on civilian populations by the Army as well as recruitment of child soldiers through government backed militia, the Civilian JTF.

The ICC also alleged that " more than 7,000 people reportedly died in military detention since March 2011 due to illness, poor condition and overcrowding of detention facilities, torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial executions."

However, Defense spokesman Col Rabe Abubakar in his response to the allegations said that the Nigerian military deserves commendation for its contributions to global peace and security rather than blackmail. 

His words ;

“The Nigerian military conducts its operations to protect Nigerians and the nation’s territorial integrity; it is constitutionally empowered to protect lives, property as well as protect the sanctity of its territories against both internal and external aggression in whatever form and under whatever guise.

“The Nigerian military operates within laws, codes of conduct and rules of engagement to execute operations in line with the best global military standards; our officers and men have steadfastly been serving our nation and making huge sacrifices, especially against the activities of Boko Haram terrorists and our citizens are happy with the successes recorded.

“Moreover, there was no iota of accusatory evidence from any Nigerian individual, organisation or group against our forces.

“It is apt to put it on record straightaway that even when we were accused of human rights violation, no iota of allegation comes from Nigerians but from external interests or those who stand as proxy for such interests.

“We constituted a powerful committee and invited the human right group to serve but they declined.

“So this report is unacceptable, biased and one-sided as our views were never sought; it is based on mere hearsay which does not hold water in any court of law.

“Therefore, the Nigerian military which has high respect for law is not in agreement with this one-sided subjective and biased judgement, especially as there was no fairness exhibited at all.

“We will not be deterred in putting in our best to end this menace no matter the blackmail or propaganda from whatever source.”

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The charges against Boko Haram by ICC

The International Criminal Court,  ICC in its Preliminary Examination Report on Nigeria, said it is preparing six charges of war crimes against the insurgent group Boko Haram.

The ICC is accusing Boko Haram of killings, abductions and indiscriminate attacks on civilians in which it says over 8000 have been killed.

The charges include "attacks conducted against civilians when taking control of towns and villages as well as bomb attacks launched against civilians in civilian areas."

The report goes further to say that; “Following military operations since February 2015 during which territory previously held by Boko Haram was recaptured, mass graves or other sites with decomposed bodies were discovered allegedly containing the bodies of civilians killed by Boko Haram.

“Boko Haram reportedly also detained thousands of civilians in its camps and in towns under its control in Borno state and other undetermined areas in the north-east of Nigeria, including in the Sambisa forest,around Lake Chad, and near the Gorsi mountains in Cameroon.

“For example, in Bama town, hundreds of men were reportedly held by Boko Haram in the town’s prison for several weeks before being executed.

“Between January 2012 and October 2013, 70 teachers and more than 100 schoolchildren and students were reportedly killed or wounded.

“In May 2014, Nigeria Union of Teachers reported that at least 173 teachers had been killed between 2009 and 2014, Borno State officials have cited a slightly higher figure of 176 teachers.

“At least 50 schools were either burned down or badly damaged and 60 more were forced to close. In March 2014, the Borno State government decided to close all secondary schools in the state in order to protect students and teachers from further attacks.

“In addition, as a result of direct threats from Boko Haram, 120 schools were forced to close in10 districts of the Far North of Cameroon. Boko Haram was included as a new party on the list of the Secretary General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (2014) for attacks against schools among other  alleged conduct.”

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The price of stealing isn't always a jail term

Photo: Young man painted white for stealing and made to walk 250 metres down the street http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2015/11/photo-young-man-painted-white-for.html

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Saying "I do" the Nigerian way

Photo from John Oyegun's daughter's traditional wedding today... http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2015/11/photo-from-john-oyeguns-daughters.html

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Atiku, his wife and their private university

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How CBN will disburse N20b loan to rice farmers

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, will on Tuesday inaugurate its N20b Anchor Borrowers Program for rice farmers..

The official launching of the program will be done by President Muhammadu Buhari in Kebbi State.

The CBN said that it is aimed at creating an Ecosystem to link out-growers (Small Holder Farmers) to local processors.

The apex bank said that under the Anchor Borrowers Program, ABP, it has earmarked N20 billion out of the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) for farmers at a single-digit interest rate of 9.0 per cent to address the challenges of poor funding. 

The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele who met with rice farmers recently highlighted the conditions for accessing the loan. 

“The farmer must be a member of a validated cooperative society before applying for the loan. We will find out how much it will take to produce one hectare of rice to determine the amount that will be given to each individual. The idea is to enhance efficient management of the resources” he said.

He explained that the key features of the new initiative include the Identification and selection of small holder farmers, grouping of out-growers into viable cooperatives/clusters, registration of the cooperatives, determination of the economics of selection and engagement of banks/ insurance companies, capacity building of out-growers, banks’ staff and extension agents and the supply of agro inputs at the appropriate time. 

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Police To Deploy Anti Robbery Squad For Kogi Election.

Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase said on Friday that the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS will be deployed to Kogi State for the November 21 governorship elections in that state. 

Speaking at the inauguration of the "Rebranded SARS", and the Complaints Response Unit, CRU in Abuja, Arase said that the anti robbery police would complement the regular police during the election.

He said that the rebranding of the SARS was in response to complaints from the public about unethical behavior by police personnel as well as frequent allegations of human rights abuses.

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