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A civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project
(SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari urging him
to drop the proposed policy to grant amnesty to members of the Boko Haram
terrorist group in the interests of justice, as any amnesty programme for
the group would be counter-productive, and constitute impunity for their
members, which can only continue to undermine peace and stability in the
country.
The organization said the government should instead prioritise justice
for the victims of Boko Haram and help them to rebuild and get on with
their lives rather than pushing to remove accountability for the mass
atrocities committed against millions of Nigerian women, men, children and
the elderly, and allowing those responsible to escape justice.
In the letter dated 23 March 2018 and signed by SERAP deputy director
Timothy Adewale the organization said: Boko Haram should not be allowed
to escape the consequences of their crimes if the authorities are to
prevent a cycle of revenge leading to further violence and conflict. We
believe that granting amnesty to Boko Haram would be an open violation of
the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and international law and
would entail a virtual denial of justice for victims.
According to the organization, The international community is pushing for
accountability for those who commit the worst of human crimes, and longer
tolerating amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity or other gross
violations of human rights.
The letter read in part: Any amnesty for Boko Haram would take away the
rights of the victims to justice, ignore the needs of the internally
displaced persons, and never bring closure to the mass atrocities
committed by the group against Nigerians. The victims need to know the
truth about what happened, and the alleged complicity of our armed forces
and security services in the atrocities committed by the group. The offer
of amnesty would prevent the government from addressing these fundamental
issues.
Indeed, both individual victims and Nigeria would be disadvantaged by any
amnesty to Boko Haram. Besides depriving the country of its opportunity to
bring perpetrators to justice, it would also help to create a culture of
impunity where perpetrators can anticipate immunity, and thus jeopardize
the governing power of the authorities in the future.
We contend that impunity for international crimes and systematic and
widespread violations of fundamental human rights is a betrayal of
solidarity with the victims of Boko Haram to whom the authorities owe a
duty of justice, remembrance, and compensation.
The pursuit of justice and accountability fulfils fundamental human
values, helps achieve peace, and contributes to the prevention and
deterrence of future violence. Thus, to grant amnesty to Boko Haram is to
choose expedience over lasting goals and more enduring values.
SERAP is seriously concerned about the governments offer of amnesty to
repentant members of Boko Haram sect willing to surrender their arms and
embrace peace. We note that any amnesty for Boko Haram involved in
serious human rights violations would be contrary to Nigerias
international obligations and commitments, including under the Rome
Statute of International Criminal Court, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People
Rights.
We contend that any amnesty for Boko Haram with blood stained hands would
serve no public interests in terms of the actual reduction of impunity for
human rights crimes or deterrent effect. The authorities would never be
able to get to the root of the causes of Boko Haram. Nigerians would not
know the truth about the factors that continue to fuel the activities of
Boko Haram if the authorities go ahead to grant members of the terrorist
group amnesty.
We also contend that every state, including Nigeria has clear obligations
to investigate, prosecute and punish or extradite individuals accused of
crimes under international, who are present in a territory under its
jurisdiction. We are concerned that the proposed amnesty for Boko Haram
would have the effect of restricting such important international norms.
We look forward to engaging with your government on the steps it is
taking to take forward the above proposed recommendations to ensure that
justice for the victims of Boko Haram is not forsaken for amnesty and
impunity for perpetrators.