Metro

HRW report indicts Burkina Faso’s military of tortute, killing civilians

Published

10 months ago

June 30, 2023

Global human rights group, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has indicted the Burkina Faso military of engaging in torture, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of civilians in the country.

In a report released on Thursday, the HRW said the military had been known to terrorize communities in the country’s northeast this year.

“For instance, the violence took place between February and May across the province of Séno was reportedly carried out by the military,” the report noted.

It added that observers identified at least 27 people who were either summarily executed or disappeared and then killed, most of them members of the Fulani ethnic group.

The report by the New York-based group is coming in the wake of a massacre in April of which residents say security forces killed at least 150 civilians in Karma, a northern village near the Mali border.

“In one account, 10 men in the village of Gangaol, all of the Fulani ethnic group, were hauled away in the backs of trucks, pushed out, and fired upon,” the watchdog report said.

“In the cases we documented, most of those who have been victims of these crimes were from the Fulani ethnic group,” a senior regional researcher at Human Rights Watch, Ilaria Allegrozzi, said.

“The Fulani people in Burkina Faso and Mali have been accused of collaborating with Islamic extremists, and as a result have often been targeted by security forces and others, he noted.

“The upsurge in violence comes as the nation’s government recently pledged to double its number of volunteer auxiliary military units, known as VDPs, to 100,000.

“The recruitment of VDPs has coincided with an increase of abuses by both sides.

“Just as Burkinabe soldiers strike villages suspected of harboring extremist elements, the presence of army recruiters in a Burkina Faso community often invites violent intimidation by armed groups.

“I think it’s also important to recognize that they are fighting a legitimate war,” Allegrozzi added.

“Executions and disappearances by Burkina Faso’s army are not only war crimes, but they breed resentment among targeted populations that fuel recruitment to armed groups”, he stated.

Deputy Africa Director at Human Rights Watch, Carine Kaneza Nantulya, who contributed to the report, said, “Burkina Faso should ensure that provost marshals, who are responsible for discipline in the armed forces and detainees’ rights, are present during all military operations.”

She stressed that the country’s transitional authorities should work with the U.N. Human Rights office to hold offenders within its military’s ranks accountable.

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Metro

I saved Nigeria from bankruptcy by removing fuel subsidy— Tinubu

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, boasted that he saved Nigeria from going bankrupt by removing fuel subsidy on his first day in office.

Tinubu had, in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, pronounced that his administration would discontinue fuel subsidy payments and though the ripple effect of the removal has brought untold hardship and hunger, the President has continued to praise his courage in taking that decisive action.

Tinubu who spoke at the Special World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, admitted that though the policy came with economic pains, it was in the best interest of Nigerians, affirming that the move has save the government money for infrastructural expansion.

While addressing his audience, Tinubu argued that removing the petrol subsidy was a necessary action for Nigeria not to go bankrupt and to reset the economy towards growth.

Tinubu said that the petrol subsidy removal equally engendered accountability, transparency and physical discipline for the country.

“Concerning the question of the subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt, to reset the economy and pathway to growth,” Tinubu said.

“Yes, there have been drawbacks. Yes, there was the expectation that a greater number of people would feel the difficulty, but, of course, I believed it was their interest that was the focus of government.

“It is easier to manage and explain the difficulties, but along the line, there was a parallel arrangement to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the vulnerable population of the country.

“We shared the pain across the board. We cannot but include those who are very vulnerable. Luckily, we have a very vibrant youthful population interested in discoveries by themselves, highly ready for technology, good education, and committed to growth,” Tinubu explained.

Metro

Nigerian troops neutralise 216 terrorists, arrest 332 in one week— Official

Published

23 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

The Nigerian Army Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says troops from different operation theaters across the country neutralised 216 terrorists and arrested 332 persons in the past one week.

A report released on Sunday morning by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, disclosed that troops also succeeded in arresting 24 “perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 161 kidnapped hostages across the country” in the week under review.

Buba noted that troops in the Niger Delta region denied oil thieves crude estimated to be worth the sum of Four Hundred and Forty Eight Million Five Hundred Fifty Seven Thousand Five Hundred and Ninety Naira.

According to the Army spokesman, troops in the oil rich region also discovered and destroyed 97 dugout pits, six boats, 20 storage tanks, two receivers, 16 drums and seven vehicles used in oil bunkering activities.

“Other items recovered incl 174 cooking ovens, one pumping machine and 8 illegal refining sites,” the report noted.

“Troops recovered 533,127 litres of stolen crude oil and 24,520 litres of illegally refined AGO,” he said.

Gen. Buba said that in other operation theatres, troops recovered 234 assorted weapons and 5,994 assorted ammunition.

“A breakdown of the discoveries include 131 AK47 rifles, 3 PKT guns, one M16 rifle, 43 locally fabricated gun, 21 dane guns, one 105mm gun, 2 automatic pump action guns, 18 locally fabricated pistols, 8 single barrel guns, 2 automatic pump action guns, one LG4 bomb, one MG skeleton, 3 explosive IED case, one MOWAG APC, one 81mm mortar tripod stand

“Others are; 3,120 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 2,195 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 211 rounds of 9mm ammo, 99 rounds of 7.62 x 25mm ammo, 467 live cartridges, one rifle butt, 15 magazines, 2 baofeng radios, 10 vehicles, 38 motorcycles, 43 mobile phones and the sum of N871,500.00 amongst other items.”

He reiterated that the military is going to continue to be very kinetic and strong against terrorists in ongoing counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations across the country.

“Indeed, we will banish and defeat terrorism from the nation rather than bow to it.

“Troops are maintaining the momentum in neutralizing the terrorist leaders and commanders. Indeed, we remain focused in fighting for the basic safety and security of citizens of this country,” he added.