REPRISAL ATTACKS BY THE MILITARY AND OTHER SECURITY AGENCIES AGAINST UNARMED CIVILIANS IN NIGERIA AND BURKINA FASO - THE BANE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE

Abstract

Whenever conflicts lead to the death of members of the armed forces or other security agencies in Nigeria and Burkina Faso, innocent civilians and their communities suffer the brunt of reprisal attacks against the law and the rights of the people. The illegality of these reprisals has been repeatedly dismissed as epiphenomenal to the need to restore order within these countries. In most of these cases, the victims were not involved in the events leading to the crisis. Finally, the victims are killed, brutalized, detained, and their communities are destroyed. In this aberration, Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which recognizes the inherent right of every person to life, is desecrated. It clearly states that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of life. From Okuama to Olota, Odi to Zaki-Biam in Nigeria, and Nondin and Soro in Burkina Faso, these reprisal attacks have become flashpoints for crimes against humanity. There is a need to address this problem. Using narrative analysis, this paper concludes that colonial and military rules which came with high handedness against the people, has been inherited as a form of governance. It recommends that every reprisal attack against innocent people must call for justice. The goal is to ensure that rights are respected and that future reprisals and consequent tragedies are prevented. It is further suggested that whenever clashes occur between people and security agencies, nobody should be treated as being above the law. On the other hand, civil matters such as land disputes and other disputes must be resolved expeditiously by the police according to the rule of law