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The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said no fewer than 35,000 people have been killed since the inception of the insurgency in the North East in 2009 to August 2023.
UNHCR’s Head, Adamawa Office, Mrs Elsie Mills-Tetty, made the disclosure yesterday, in Yola, Adamawa State, at a training for military personnel on human rights, humanitarian principles and civilians protection, organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in collaboration with UNHCR.
Mills-Tetty, who was represented by the Assistant Protection Officer, Umar Abdullahi, said this was according to the “Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect” report of August 2023.
She said the implication of the acts to the economic and social development of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Nigeria at large can never be overemphasised, adding that in 2022, the NHRC reported that it investigated complaints on human rights as well as assisted victims in seeking redress.
Mills-Tetty said: “Cumulatively, the commission received 2.314 complaints. Adamawa had 65,456 complaints, which is approximately three percent of the total complaints from the 36 states of the federation.
“The 2022 NHRC report also indicated that incidences of insurgency, banditry, kidnappings, farmers/herders clashes and attacks by gunmen continued to increase with the attendant number of internally displaced persons who face enormous human rights violations.”
She further called on the participants to take advantage of the training to boost their knowledge on human rights in the course of their duties.
In his address, Executive Secretary, NHRC, Mr Tony Ojukwu, said the training was aimed at mainstreaming human rights into the counter-insurgency efforts of the Nigerian troops in the North East.
Ojukwu, who was represented by his Special Assistant, Mr Benedict Agu, commended the Nigerian military and other law enforcement agencies for performing exceedingly well in containing insurgency.
He added: “To further sustain the gains made so far, the commission, in partnership with UNHCR, is here to train key military officers and men who are directly involved in the counter-insurgency operations in the North East.
“The justification for this training cannot be overemphasised, as the war against insurgency is complicated by the asymmetric nature of the conflict.
“The insurgents live within us and there is hardly a clearly drawn battle-line between the insurgents and the civilian population,” he said.
Ojukwu urged the participants to ensure the implementation of the knowledge acquired while discharging their professional and private mandates.
