{"id":61315,"date":"2018-03-26T00:59:25","date_gmt":"2018-03-25T23:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=61315"},"modified":"2018-03-26T00:59:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-25T23:59:25","slug":"serap-writes-buhari-opposes-amnesty-for-boko-haram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/serap-writes-buhari-opposes-amnesty-for-boko-haram\/","title":{"rendered":"SERAP writes Buhari, opposes amnesty for Boko Haram"},"content":{"rendered":"
A civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project<\/div>\n
(SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari urging him<\/div>\n
to drop the proposed policy to grant amnesty to members of the Boko Haram<\/div>\n
terrorist group in the interests of justice, as any amnesty programme for<\/div>\n
the group would be counter-productive, and constitute impunity for their<\/div>\n
members, which can only continue to undermine peace and stability in the<\/div>\n
country.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The organization said the government should instead prioritise justice<\/div>\n
for the victims of Boko Haram and help them to rebuild and get on with<\/div>\n
their lives rather than pushing to remove accountability for the mass<\/div>\n
atrocities committed against millions of Nigerian women, men, children and<\/div>\n
the elderly, and allowing those responsible to escape justice.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In the letter dated 23 March 2018 and signed by SERAP deputy director<\/div>\n
Timothy Adewale the organization said: Boko Haram should not be allowed<\/div>\n
to escape the consequences of their crimes if the authorities are to<\/div>\n
prevent a cycle of revenge leading to further violence and conflict. We<\/div>\n
believe that granting amnesty to Boko Haram would be an open violation of<\/div>\n
the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and international law and<\/div>\n
would entail a virtual denial of justice for victims.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
According to the organization, The international community is pushing for<\/div>\n
accountability for those who commit the worst of human crimes, and longer<\/div>\n
tolerating amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity or other gross<\/div>\n
violations of human rights.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The letter read in part: Any amnesty for Boko Haram would take away the<\/div>\n
rights of the victims to justice, ignore the needs of the internally<\/div>\n
displaced persons, and never bring closure to the mass atrocities<\/div>\n
committed by the group against Nigerians. The victims need to know the<\/div>\n
truth about what happened, and the alleged complicity of our armed forces<\/div>\n
and security services in the atrocities committed by the group. The offer<\/div>\n
of amnesty would prevent the government from addressing these fundamental<\/div>\n
issues.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Indeed, both individual victims and Nigeria would be disadvantaged by any<\/div>\n
amnesty to Boko Haram. Besides depriving the country of its opportunity to<\/div>\n
bring perpetrators to justice, it would also help to create a culture of<\/div>\n
impunity where perpetrators can anticipate immunity, and thus jeopardize<\/div>\n
the governing power of the authorities in the future.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We contend that impunity for international crimes and systematic and<\/div>\n
widespread violations of fundamental human rights is a betrayal of<\/div>\n
solidarity with the victims of Boko Haram to whom the authorities owe a<\/div>\n
duty of justice, remembrance, and compensation.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The pursuit of justice and accountability fulfils fundamental human<\/div>\n
values, helps achieve peace, and contributes to the prevention and<\/div>\n
deterrence of future violence. Thus, to grant amnesty to Boko Haram is to<\/div>\n
choose expedience over lasting goals and more enduring values.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
SERAP is seriously concerned about the governments offer of amnesty to<\/div>\n
repentant members of Boko Haram sect willing to surrender their arms and<\/div>\n
embrace peace. We note that any amnesty for Boko Haram involved in<\/div>\n
serious human rights violations would be contrary to Nigerias<\/div>\n
international obligations and commitments, including under the Rome<\/div>\n
Statute of International Criminal Court, the International Covenant on<\/div>\n
Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People<\/div>\n
Rights.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We contend that any amnesty for Boko Haram with blood stained hands would<\/div>\n
serve no public interests in terms of the actual reduction of impunity for<\/div>\n
human rights crimes or deterrent effect. The authorities would never be<\/div>\n
able to get to the root of the causes of Boko Haram. Nigerians would not<\/div>\n
know the truth about the factors that continue to fuel the activities of<\/div>\n
Boko Haram if the authorities go ahead to grant members of the terrorist<\/div>\n
group amnesty.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We also contend that every state, including Nigeria has clear obligations<\/div>\n
to investigate, prosecute and punish or extradite individuals accused of<\/div>\n
crimes under international, who are present in a territory under its<\/div>\n
jurisdiction. We are concerned that the proposed amnesty for Boko Haram<\/div>\n
would have the effect of restricting such important international norms.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We look forward to engaging with your government on the steps it is<\/div>\n
taking to take forward the above proposed recommendations to ensure that<\/div>\n
justice for the victims of Boko Haram is not forsaken for amnesty and<\/div>\n
impunity for perpetrators.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\nSERAP writes Buhari, opposes amnesty for Boko Haram - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/serap-writes-buhari-opposes-amnesty-for-boko-haram\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SERAP writes Buhari, opposes amnesty for Boko Haram - 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