Falana Tells FG To Compensate Victims Of Accidental Airstrikes Or Face Legal Action

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has asked the Federal Government to adequately compensate all the victims of military airstrikes in the past seven years or face a lawsuit if it fails to comply within two weeks.

The human rights lawyer issued the warning in a statement on Sunday.

Falana lamented that there has been no justice for victims of several bombings by military personnel over the years.

He noted that after the Rann bombing of January 2017, the Federal Government set up a commission “mandated to review extant rules of engagement applicable in the Armed Forces of Nigeria as well as the extent of compliance with the rules.

Part of the mandate of the commission, he said was to also prefer means of preventing violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

However, the human rights lawyer claimed that following the recent bombing, the Federal Government has neither published the report nor implemented the recommendations of the commission headed by Justice Biobell Georgewill of the Court of Appeal.

He stated, “No doubt, the military authorities accepted responsibility for the airstrikes and claimed that the crashes were caused by ‘accidents’. But no compensation was paid to those who were injured and the families of scores of people who lost their lives in the tragic incidents,” the statement reads.

“The Commission was given 90 days for the assessment. Our law firm represented the victims of the Rann airstrike at the Commission of Inquiry. Upon the conclusion of the assignment, the commission submitted its report.

“The Federal Government should pay adequate compensation to the victims of all airstrikes that have occurred in Nigeria in the past seven years. If our demand is not met within the next two weeks, we shall sue the Federal Government at the Federal High Court to secure the enforcement of the fundamental right of the victims to life.”