The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar El-Kanemi, has commended the Federal Government for setting up the Special Investigative Panel to probe alleged human rights violations in the North East, saying it is timely and well deserved.
The royal father made the statement during a courtesy visit by members of the panel to his palace.
A foreign news agency, Reuters, had in a report accused the military of rights violation, including forced abortion for girls impregnated by insurgents.
The monarch said the emirate was troubled by the report, which he claimed could distract the military from its peacekeeping operations in the North East region.
“We are happy with the setting up of the panel by the government; it is a relief to us because we are hopeful that it will get to the root of the matter and unravel the truth,” he added.
The royal father said he would be shocked if the panel found the military guilty of unprofessional conduct and human rights violations.
He recalled that before the deployment of troops on counter-insurgency operations to Borno and other parts of the North East, several villages were captured, airports inoperative, roads barricaded, telecommunication interrupted, and women and school children kidnapped at random by insurgents.
The monarch said atrocious crimes and human rights violations became minimal with the deployment of the troops.
He appealed to the government to render more humanitarian assistance to his people.
Speaking during the visit, the Chairman of the panel, Justice Abdu Aboki (rtd.), said the visit was necessary to enable the panel to arrive at the truth of the matter and serve justice to all parties.
In a similar vein, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, noted that the panel had to intimate the Shehu of Borno of their presence and objective in the state before the sitting of the panel began.
He also noted that the report had serious human rights implications and as an independent body mandated to assist the government to fulfill its international human rights obligations, the commission deemed it fit to establish the panel.
