Eric Dumo

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the protection of human rights as a cardinal objective of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Speaking in Washington, United States of America, on Thursday during a roundtable organised by the Atlantic Council, Mohammed said the picture of impunity and complete disregard for extant laws and international obligations painted by Amnesty International in a recent report, was not a true reflection of the character and ethics of the Nigerian government or any of its agencies.

The minister said that the government had taken several measures to address human rights violation in the course of the counter-insurgency operations.

He said, “Very soon, the Federal Government will adopt a national policy on the protection of civilians in conflict situations to further strengthen and entrench its constitutional practice of protection of civilians.

“Before the advent of this administration, Boko Haram could carry out attacks anywhere in the North East and beyond at a time of their own choosing. That is now history.”

Speaking further, Mohammed said that the incessant farmers-herders’ clashes were neither religious nor ethnic in nature as had been portrayed in some circles.

He said, “There is no question that this (conflict) is driven mostly by an increased contest for dwindling natural resources like land and water.

‘’As desertification continues to encroach and the Lake Chad that provided a livelihood for over 35 million in several countries shrink from 25,000 to 2,500 square kilometers, herders in particular are forced to move to the South in search of grazing land and water for their cattle.”

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