Punch
The Theatre Commander, Joint Task Force (North East) Operation Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa, has urged Nigerians to discard the insinuation that the surrendered Boko Haram terrorists were being pampered.
Musa, in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Maiduguri, explained that the action of the military in receiving surrendered terrorists was in line with international laws and best practices.
He said that even during combat, when an enemy surrenders, the capturing forces are, by law, not allowed to shoot that individual.
According to him, the military is meant to hold, arrest and treat the surrendered enemy humanely.
“I don’t know if people misunderstood humane treatment as pampering because if he is sick, we are supposed to treat him; if he is hungry, we are supposed to give him food. We are supposed to provide him shelter, just like any other person and that is exactly what we are doing.
“So, there is no aspect of pampering. We are just keeping them as humans to ensure that they are fit enough to go through proper procedure and they will definitely go through this procedure.
“Again, let me assure the public that there is no any aspect of pampering, we are sorting them out so that those that didn’t play any part will be handled separately while those ones that took part actively, the combatants, will be treated separately,” he said.
