Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Honourable Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has commended the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) for notable humanitarian activities in Nigeria mostly the NorthEast Nigeria. This was contained in a statement signed by Captain Moses Yare, For: Director, Information and Public Relations.
The Minister stated this while receiving delegation of the ICRC in his office at the Ministry of Defence headquarters Abuja.
He stated that Nigeria is committed to promoting human rights and obeying all international best practices and protocols in civil-military relationships.
General Musa decried the level of insurgence in the northeast and northwest part of Nigeria and appealed to all stakeholders to be part of the ongoing fight against insurgence. He said security is everybody’s business, and all must unite against terrorism.
Earlier, the head of ICRC Doris El Doueihy expressed appreciation for the continued collaboration with the Nigeria military, describing it as ‘’great’’ and essential to delivering assistance in conflict affected areas.
She also thanked Nigeria government for the recent launch of a new training programme for military police in Zaria. She reaffirmed ICRC strong working relationship with the Nigerian Arm as part of its expanded humanitarian operations in the North East and North West and noted a significant increase in the ICRC presence in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states.
ICRC emphasized that prolonged detention without family contacting the suspect should not be encouraged and appealed to the Minister to ensure Red Cross members have access to the detainees who will establish contact with the family members.
She thanked Minister for the progress on detainee hearings and encouraged faster coordination with the ministry of Justice to reduce overcrowding in detention facilities.
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