“It is appalling that Boko Haram followed up the killing of Rev. Andimi on Monday with an attack on his village — in Chibok Local Government Borno State. Targeting civilians is a crime under international law,” Amnesty International has declared.
The Amnesty was reacting to the killing of Rev Lawan Andimi, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Michika local government area of Adamawa State by his abductors.
This is as the Adamawa State CAN Chairman, Bishop Dami Mamza, who is the Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, described the murder of the clergyman as gruesome and unfortunate.
Amnesty International has urged the Nigerian Government to ensure that Boko Haram and other terrorist groups involved in crimes against humanity must not go unpunished.
The rights group, in a statement, said it is appalled by the killing of Andimi, adding that the government must ensure that every member of the terrorist group must be brought to justice.
Amnesty said, “With this horrific murder and an increasing number of attacks in recent weeks, Boko Haram has again shown its brazen disregard for the sanctity of life.
“These deplorable crimes must not go unpunished.
“Boko Haram must immediately stop its attacks on civilians. All those responsible for war crimes and other human rights violations and abuses in Nigeria must be brought to justice in a fair trial.
“The Nigerian authorities must re-double their efforts to rescue the hundreds of civilians still detained by Boko Haram.
“Since December last year, Boko Haram has been escalating attacks on civilians, commuters, infrastructural and humanitarian facilities across North-East.”
Recall that days after his abduction, Rev. Andimi in reports monitored by Channels Television was seen in a viral video, begging the state government to intervene and secure his release.
In the video, he appealed to the government to help him look after his children if it is God’s will that he would not get out of captivity.
