Justice Tanko Muhammad, the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, has asked the military to act within the law if it wants to win public trust in the fight against insecurity.
Justice Mohammed made the charge at a retreat organized by the Nigerian Air Force in Abuja on Tuesday.
“Considering the nature of the type of war we are now engaged in, the military cannot function effectively without public support.
“If we juxtapose this with the increasing focus and the criticism of military operations at both local and international levels, the need to act within the laid down military operations, therefore, becomes undeniably imperative,” he said.
However, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, expressed concerns over allegations raised by some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), about the military disregarding human rights and international laws.
“It is no longer news that several reports by Non-Governmental Organisations have alleged grave violations of international laws and human rights by the Nigerian military.
“Unfortunately, these mostly unverified allegations have overtime portrayed the military in a bad light and have, as well, impacted negatively on our fight against insurgency.
“While most of the allegations are untrue, they nevertheless caused mistrust between the military and civil populace, while also affecting relations between Nigeria and some of its allies,” Abubakar said.
