“Power is transient, Justice Eternal”: Why Nigeria needs to address impunity

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By Netsanet Belay
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria: urged to address impunity
Observing the public debate following the publication of Amnesty International’s recent report on war crimes committed by the military I am reminded of the words of Wole Soyinka: “Power is transient, justice eternal”.
Since we came back from Abuja I have noted the positive commitment from the President as well as the usual dismissive response from the military. I have heard from Nigerians from all walks of life. Time will tell whether truth and justice will prevail in Nigeria. But let me set the record straight to clarify some emerging misconceptions.
Amnesty has documented and condemned in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Boko Haram and we will continue to do so.
As recently as 14 April 2015, the first anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok school girls, we published a comprehensive report, ‘Our job is to shoot, slaughter and kill’ documenting and condemning the horrific crimes of Boko Haram in the north-east of the country.
The April report showed that in addition to abducting at least 2,000 women and girls, Boko Haram had killed at least 5,500 civilians and brutalized tens of thousands between 2014 and March 2015. And this report was not the first. My team have been on the ground documenting and exposing multiple war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights abuses committed by Boko Haram since the start of the crisis. These findings were published in Amnesty International reports in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. And each time, we have called for justice for the victims of Boko Haram.
But we have also documented serious human rights violations perpetrated by the military in the course of the fight against Boko Haram.
In our sister report to the report about Boko Haram atrocities, ‘Stars on their Shoulders. Blood on …Read More

Source:: PM Newspaper