The Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami has expressed the support of the Federal Government for the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violation in Counter Insurgency Operation in the North-East (SIIP-NE).
Malami pledged that the government will fully implement the recommendations that may be the outcome of the findings of the panel.
The Minister made this disclosure Thursday when members of the SIIP NE paid a courtesy visit to his office to intimate him of the progress of the panel.
He stated that the administration of President Mohammadu Buhari has established a record of compliance with the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission.
The Chief Legal Officer of the country cited the example of the payment of 135 million naira as compensation paid by the government to victims of human rights violations as recommended by the NHRC after the public hearing of the case of the Apo 8.
While expressing the readiness of the Federal Government to implement the recommendations of the panel as soon as it is ready, the Attorney General said the allegations contained in the Reuters report must be immediately investigated for adequate necessary actions to be taken, adding that the activities of the panel as highlighted so far shows that the panel has already hit the ground running.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC Chief Tony Ojukwu said it was important to brief the Minister about the work of the panel and to solicit more support from the Ministry considering the enormous task that the panel has to accomplish.
He used the medium to inform the Minister about the passage of the harmonized Legislation of the Commission which has just been passed by the Senate and waiting presidential accent.
Ojukwu appealed to the Minister to use the influence of his good office to ensure the presidential assent of the harmonize legislation of the NHRC, saying it will go a long way to assist the Commission to effectively deliver on its mandate.
The Chairman of the Panel, Justice Abdu Aboki (rtd) expressed the commitment of the Panel to unravel the truth contained in the three-part report released by a foreign news agency Reuters in December 2022.
Earlier, the Secretary of the Panel, who also doubles as the Senior Human Rights Adviser to the Executive Secretary, Mr. Hilary Ogbonna highlighted the activities of the 7-man panel of experts which include consultation, partnership, public outreach, and public hearing. “So far, the panel has heard 33 testimonies from witnesses, 16 of them civilians and 17 were top military officials including 3 Theatre Commanders of Operation Lafiya Dole now Operation Hadin Kai”.
