Johannesburg — A committee set up by the Nigerian government to develop an amnesty framework for members of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram should exclude serious crimes that violate international human rights law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the committee made public today. Instead, the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the Northshould demand accountability for these crimes.
Boko Haram has carried out a brutal campaign of violence across northern Nigeria. A Human Rights Watch report in October 2012 found that Boko Haram's attacks, including the murder of civilians and the persecution of Christians, likely amount to crimes against humanity under international law.
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