Appraisal of Boko Haram Insurgency and Human Rights Violations by the Joint Task Force (JTF) in North-East Nigeria

Human rights are the foundation of human existence. One of the greatest objective of the post-independence Nigerian Constitution is the protection of human rights. The 1999 Constitution (as amended), set the tone by dedicating itself to promote good governance and welfare of all persons on the principles of freedom, equality and justice. Despite the fortification of human rights by the 1999 Constitution and the International and regional instruments, Nigeria still faces widespread of human rights violations, particularly by the JTF in the North-East Nigeria, which ranged from extra-judicial killings, torture and forms of ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, rape and unlawful detention. The aim of the paper, is to examine the extent to which the JTF engaged in human rights violations. To achieve this, the paper adopted doctrinal methodology otherwise known as theoretical method consisting of consultation od statutory legislation, case laws, books, journal conference papers, magazine as well as internet materials both in printed form and electronic means. The findings revealed that the JTF engaged in serious human rights violations of the citizens. The paper recommends that the investigative penal report constituted by government to investigate and identify perpetrates of human rights violations among the JTF be made public and the perpetrates be brought to face justice.