Victims of military airstrikes errors: Human rights activists threaten to sue Nigerian federal government for failure to compensate
Lawyer and human rights activist Femi Falana has threatened to sue the federal government if it does not compensate victims of errors in military airstrikes over the past seven years.
In a statement to the press last Sunday, Falana claimed that no less than 400 people lost their lives in incidents of erroneous military airstrikes in Nigeria between March 2014 and December 2023.
Titled “No justice for civilians killed in Nigeria airstrikes”, Falana’s statement highlights that although the military authorities have admitted responsibility for the airstrikes, no compensation has been paid to the injured or the families of the victims. many people died in these tragic incidents.
“Between March 2014 and December 2023, the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Army dropped bombs in some northern states of the country on sixteen different occasions. These airstrikes claimed the lives of no less than 400 people. The incident The most tragic occurred on January 17, 2017, when two bombs were dropped in the middle of Rann, Borno State, which was home to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The incident caused the death of 170 people – including aid workers and refugees – and many others were injured,” the statement said.
“Without doubt, the military authorities acknowledged responsibility for the airstrikes and claimed that accidents were the cause. But no compensation has been paid to the injured, nor to the families of the many people who died in these tragic incidents.” , he adds.
Falana also recalls that the Federal Government had instituted a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Biobell Georgewill of the Court of Appeal to examine the rules of engagement in force in the Nigerian Armed Forces as well as the degree of compliance with these rules.
“Part of the commission’s mission was also to propose ways to prevent violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. The commission had a deadline of 90 days to carry out this assessment,” he specifies. .
“The law firm represented the victims of the Rann airstrike error before the Commission of Inquiry. At the end of its mission, the Commission submitted its report. But so far, the federal government has not “neither published the report nor implemented the Commission’s recommendations,” he adds.
Instead of setting up a new commission of inquiry, Femi Falana calls on the federal government to publish the findings of the Georgewill Judicial Commission. It also calls for adequate compensation for the victims of all the misguided airstrikes that took place in Nigeria over the past seven years.
“If our demand is not met within the next two weeks, we will file a lawsuit against the federal government in Federal Court to uphold the victims’ fundamental right to life,” he concludes.
The case of victims of failed military airstrikes in Nigeria once again raises the question of government responsibility towards civilians affected by armed conflicts. Efforts to obtain justice and compensation for victims are essential to ensure the protection of human rights in the country.