Political Science Department Holds a Seminar on Military and Human Rights In Nigeria’s Democracy

Nile University Political Science and International Relations Department on 21st April 2021 held a seminar titled: The Military and Human Rights in Nigeria’s Democracy. The guest speaker at the event was Group Captain Musa Sanda-Jika (Director Legal Services Nigerian Air Force).

The Host of the event, Dr. Hakeem Onapajo (Senior Lecturer Department of Political Science, and International Relations) started the event with an opening remark where he gave a brief introduction of the guest and emphasized the importance of the topic considering the negative public perception of the military.

Group Captain Sanda-Jika identified the structures that the Nigerian military has established to protect human rights in military operations, and he emphasized that they are in line with international best practices. According to him, the nature of conflict has mostly shifted from being inter-state to intra-state and this necessitates more internal military operations. This has given room for more military-civilian interactions which tend to increase infringement on human rights in communities. Despite the situation, Group Captain Sanda-Jika emphasized that the existing functional structures in the military that address all cases of human rights abuses have brought much personnel to book. He, therefore, encouraged civilians to explore the avenues for reporting human rights violations at the military offices.

The program ended with a closing remark by Professor Ahmet Arabaci (HOD Political Science); he appreciated the Group Captain Sanda-Jika for the insightful lecture and noted that the lecture demonstrates the quality of democracy in Nigeria.

Share on Facebook
Share on twitter