The Nigerian Army has expressed hope that its recently established Human Rights Desk will create better interface between it, human rights organisations and Nigerians.
Major General Rogers Nicholas, the Chief of Civil-Military Relations of the Nigerian Army, told reporters that the established desk, which was part of recent reforms, would address issues of abuse when they arise.
He explained that the attention on human rights issues will also include training and retraining of troops on human rights laws to ensure that within the rules of their engagements, they would respect the rights of Nigerians.
According to him, the army had put in place mechanisms to ensure that human rights education is given priority during its recruitment processes.
He explained that there was a mechanism for continuous education of officers and men especially those engaged in the internal security.
While he stressed that some of the stories of human rights abuse indicting the Army has been false, he said many of the cases reported in the past had been thoroughly investigated and where officers were found culpable they were punished.
