FORMER Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has demanded an apology from Amnesty International to the Nigerian military over accusations of inhuman treatment in its fight against Boko Haram insurgents.
The elder statesman admitted that there might exist instances, where military operations have raised human right concerns, but said the military never engages in ‘slitting of throats’ of any person whether civilian or terrorist as peddled by the international human rights group.
Gowon was speaking at the National Defence College Course 24 inauguration lecture. On June 3, 2015, Amnesty International released shocking videos, where it alleged that more than 7,000 suspects died in military detention from torture, starvation as well as evidence of the military slitting the throats of some people.
This did not go down well with General Yakubu Gowon (retd) as he described the accusation as unfair to the Nigerian Army.
He said: “They accused the Nigerian military of doing all sorts of atrocities like cutting the throat of Boko Haram members whereas it was the insurgents that did it and I have seen many videos of what they were doing to poor innocent Nigerians in Gwoza area.