The Minister of Defense Bashir Magashi has denied allegation of human rights violations by Nigerian troops in the on-going counter-terrorism operations in the North-East by a section of international community.
He debunked the allegation when the United States Acting Ambassador to Nigeria, Kathleen Gibbon, paid him a courtesy visit, in Abuja.
The Minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mohammad Abdulkadri in a statement, said Magashi assured the international community of Federal government’s respect for the domestic and International laws on human rights abuses.
He noted that the troops were guided by the extant laws of the land as enshrined in the constitution and rules of engagements as well as acts and other laws to warrant any form of abuse.
The minister, however, thanked the U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM and the U.S. Office of the Defence Cooperation for the delivery of the NAF Super Tulcano aircraft and the training of NAF Pilots and engineers.
Earlier, the Acting Ambassador, Kathleen Gibbon, pledged the continuous support of the U.S. for Nigeria, adding that the remaining six Super Tulcano would arrive the country by September.
