By YANGE IKYAA
Beginning from August 15 to 18, experts from the U.S. Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) worked with 14 officers from all three Nigerian military branches on issues involving human rights, the law of armed conflict, and the protection of civilians.
DIILS is the lead resource center of the United States Department of Defense that is used for global legal engagement and capacity-building with international defense sector officials.
Through group discussions and presentations in Abuja, participants explored ways to expand the role of military legal advisors beyond their traditional military justice duties.
During their interface, they commonly agreed that legal advisors can assist in the planning of operations to reduce the risk of unintentionally harming civilians. In addition, participants discussed ways to enhance the Nigerian military’s investigation, tracking, and public reporting of incidents where civilians are unintentionally harmed.
The four-day engagement in Abuja was led by U.S. lawyers and military members with years of experience in operational law and military justice. They built on similar ongoing DIILS institutional capacity building efforts since September 2021.
Through these engagements, the U.S. and Nigeria aim to further develop the Nigerian military’s capability to ensure the protection of civilians during military operations and to respond in a timely way to incidents of civilian harm during such operations.
“The United States looks forward to continuing these engagements with the Nigerian military in the future,” a statement sent to The Africanscholar by the US embassy in Abuja read in part.
