Investigating The Source Of Funding For Boko Haram

The Human Rights Watch has advised the Federal Government to consider investigating the source of funding for Boko Haram.

The body said this step will go a long way in winning the war against the group of insurgents.

This recommendation was made on Wednesday at a world press conference held at the Lagos Airport Hotel.

The European Media Director of Human Rights Watch, Mr. Andrew Stroehlein, emphasised that this would now be necessary after the United States has come out to say the possibility of Boko Haram getting its funding from Al Queda is unlikely.

Stroehlein said the coming together of the world powers to confront Boko Haram should have happened earlier than this time.

He added that this coming together should however be leveraged upon to form an independent investigation panel to perform this task as the challenge is now clearly beyond the Nigerian scope.

In addition, HRW would want the government to demilitarize the security around the northern schools.

The Nigerian Researcher for HRW, Mrs. Mausi Segun, said positioning military and police forces around schools would be a counter-productive response to terrorist attacks.

Mausi said the tendency is high that presence of military and police forces around schools would attract insurgent attacks to the schools.

She said these attacks might not be primarily targeted at the schools but when insurgents launch an attack on the military or police personnel, the schools are automatically exposed.

Mausi advised the government to consider a community-led security system as an alternative.

She said rather than being positioned directly near schools, the security forces should rather be kept at places where rapid response could be made when attacks are launched.

The other approach is to formulate an early warning system which allows for quick evacuation of students from school marked out for attacks.

Mausi reiterated the need to account for the cases of human rights violation that have attended the military counter-terrorist actions in the north.

She advocated the trial of the huge number of young people locked up without trial in military custody in the northern part of the country.

source

Short URL: http://www.osundefender.org/?p=166769