The Executive Director of CLEEN foundation, Dr Benson Olugbuo has expressed that the relations between the security personnel and civil society continue to be fraught with mistrust, tension, limited interaction and fear.
Dr Benson further said this state of affairs is deeply rooted in histories, current security challenges and the shrinking space for civil liberties in Nigeria that has led to a number of rights violations by security personnel on the citizens.
He noted this at the Civil -Military Relations Accountability Forum held at the National Human Right Commission, Maitama, Abuja in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission and the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR).
He explained that consequently, there has been an increased focus by Nigerians and the international community to spotlight the accountability mechanisms set up by security agencies to address citizens’ complaints against security personnel that bother on human rights abuses.
“These mechanisms are part of measures to instil public confidence and to position security institutions as rights respecting.
“The Accountability Forum is a part of our project activities for the ‘Fostering Civil Military Relations’ Project funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
“The project’s objective is to strengthen civil-military relations through sustained dialogues and improved understanding between the military and civilians to improve accountability, security and respect for human rights in Nigeria.
“Currently, one of such recent platforms is the Public Complaints Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) set up in 2015 by the Nigeria Police Force to address complaints from the public as it concerns Police Officers.
“The Nigerian Army equally has also established a Human Rights Desk within the Directorate of Civil Military Affairs in early 2016 and a Call Centre to receive complaints against Army personnel.
“Other security agencies also have some internal procedures for holding personnel accountable for actions/inactions,” he said.
