[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3301]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN THE NIGERIAN MILITARY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, nearly a year ago when Muhammadu Buhari 
became the first Nigerian to defeat a sitting President through the 
ballot box, I greeted the news with cautious optimism. For the most 
part, his message was and remains one that encourages greater 
cooperation between the United States and Nigeria to defeat Boko Haram 
and chart a brighter course for Africa's most populous nation.
  Recent attacks by Boko Haram have served as a sobering reminder of 
the challenges Nigeria continues to face, and I have supported every 
initiative by the Obama administration to counter this scourge. Through 
my role as ranking member on the Department of State and Foreign 
Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, I have also supported hundreds 
of millions of dollars in foreign aid for Nigeria annually, 
particularly for public health activities.
  But words and money only go so far. While President Buhari has taken 
positive steps to combat corruption and his government has shown more 
interest than his predecessor in addressing the development challenges 
in the north, reports of human rights abuses by the Nigerian military 
continue to undermine the government's reputation and effectiveness. 
Unfortunately, this is nothing new. And although President Buhari has 
taken some initial steps to reform the military, far more needs to be 
done when it comes to accountability for such crimes.
  I want to highlight an incident which, although tragic, provides an 
important opportunity for President Buhari to begin to reverse the long 
history of impunity within Nigeria's security forces. According to 
credible reports, on December 12, 2015, a convoy that was transporting 
Nigeria's chief of army staff was unable to bypass a gathering 
orchestrated by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Zaria, and the 
ensuing clashes resulted in as many as 300 civilians killed and many 
others detained. According to information I have received, many of the 
bodies were quickly buried by soldiers without the permission of family 
members, making it difficult to determine the death toll, but also 
making it hard for victims' families to know who had been killed and 
who had been taken into custody. The Kaduna State government 
subsequently established a judicial commission of inquiry to 
investigate the incident, a positive first step, and it is expected to 
complete its work sometime this month.
  Serious questions, however, have been raised about the impartiality 
of the commission. While I understand that the inquiry is being 
conducted at the state level, it has national implications. The fact 
that President Buhari has said little about this situation--noting only 
that it is ``a military affair''--is worrisome given the potential for 
wide-ranging implications and the commitments he made during his 
inaugural speech to ensure discipline for ``human rights violators in 
the armed forces.''
  I hope the Buhari administration fully supports the Kaduna State 
government judicial commission of inquiry and takes whatever steps are 
necessary to ensure it fulfills its responsibilities. The risks are 
great if the commission is deemed not to have been impartial and 
thorough in its review and if the findings are not publicly released 
and acted on, as appropriate. At the very least, a significant 
opportunity will have been missed to demonstrate that the Government of 
Nigeria values and defends the rule of law, is committed to 
transparency, and seeks to make real progress on issues of justice and 
accountability.
  While this is an issue that Nigeria must tackle, I stand ready to 
support any assistance the United States can provide to help President 
Buhari strengthen Nigerian institutions of justice and combat impunity.

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