As a stakeholder in the organized Human Rights Community for over two decades, I can say it without any fear of contradiction that the last five and half years the Nigeria Army perhaps recorded the most phenomenal and concrete milestones in the task of mainstreaming the respect for fundamental Human Rights of citizens by the military in internal military Operations.
Therefore the general conversations of most observers in Nigeria usually touch on the respect or otherwise of the Human Rights of the citizenry by the military which in the current constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is captured institutionally and statutorily under section- 217 which states that: “There shall be an armed Forces for the federation which shall consist of an Army, a Navy, an Air force and such other branches of the armed Forces of the federation as may be established...
“Both Bentham and Burke took the view that rights exist only in society, and cannot exist outside or before society, and that they come into existence as a result of law or agreement; which means that rights are conferred, not automatically or intrinsically possessed. For those who think as Locke does, rights are understood negatively, that is, as protecting against interference, obstruction, or depredation.
Only recently, a leading civil rights advocacy group-: Human Rights writers Association of Nigeria in its submission to the new Army Chief dated February 1, 2021 asserted that the Association will continue to partner with the Nigerian Army in the areas of promotion and protection of the human rights of all Nigerians, irrespective of gender, tribe or religion, assuring further collaboration, partnership and improved relations in the protection of human rights of the citizens.
“The international law of armed conflicts, of which international humanitarian law is a part, was formulated much earlier than international human rights law. Important phases in the development of the humanitarian law of armed conflicts were the Conferences of Paris , Geneva , St. Petersburg , Brussels , The Hague and Geneva .”
The immediate past chief of Army staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai established the first ever nation-wide remedial and redress institution that tackles the issues of human rights violations committed by the military.