Gen. Abubakar
The Sector 3 Commander of Operation Hadin Kai and Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Mongonu in Borno, Maj. Gen. Abdulsalam Enesi Abubakar, has described Reuters News Agency report claiming that 500 children were killed by military in 60 violence as mischievous.
Abubakar who testified before the 7-Member Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter Insurgency Operations in North East.
Abubakar said that the Nigerian army is professionally trained to respect human rights and abide by international humanitarian law during war situations.
According to Abubakar, if the allegation contained in the Reuters report was true, there would have been outcry, pictures, and evidence to show the atrocious acts.
“To say 500 children were killed in 60 violence is simply mischievous, I don’t know where that report is coming from. It is unfounded,” the commander said.
He explained that as at 2018, the period referred to in the Reuters report, Gasarawa named in that report was disserted, wondering where Reuters got the number of children allegedly killed by the Military in Gasarawa.
The army commander said that the soldier who Reuters claimed have witnessed the incident as contained in it report could not be an authentic soldier of the Nigerian army.
Also testifying, the Commanding Officer of Sector 2, Damaturu, Maj. Gen. Mayirenso Lander David Saraso, narrated how they received and facilitated the movement of 1,199 repentant Boko Haram members from Niger who before now came into town through unsecured route.
He said that none of they ex-combatants spend up to 24 hours with the military before they were conveyed to Maiduguri for proper reintegration.
When asked by the general counsel to the panel, Mr Hillary Ogbanna about the alleged violations, particularly the alleged killing of children that took place in Kukawa in 2018, Gen. Saraso said no one was living at the location at that time.
According to him, since there was no troops, no commercial activities, it could not be possible that a soldier witnessed the killing of children where there are no human activities.
