Nigerian Military to receive the much need military assistance is hampered. For example the ‘Leahy Law’ which has prevented US military assistance to some units in the Nigerian Army is an important impediment to the reform programme of the Nigerian Army. The NHRC should join the debate on the effectiveness of the application of the Leahy law to the Nigerian Military. (2.1) International donors have supported numerous but patchy and uncoordinated human rights trainings programme for the Nigerian Military. The results have been limited largely because of poor coordination and funds. Donors should harmonize their efforts and mobilize greater resources. The Human Rights Institute of the NHRC should play a leading role in ensuring that Human Rights education is mainstreamed in all military training curriculum and core human rights values are included in Military code of conduct and rules of engagement. As an important first step the Human Rights Institute should conduct certified human rights training programmes for various cadres of military personnel. (3) There is a need to strengthen, through better resourcing, the capacity of the NHRC to investigate and report violations by military units and personnel. (3.1) The NHRC should continue to regularly seek access to military detention centres in all areas of military operations. The Commission should also regularly visit and report on the legality of and conditions in detention. All reports should be made public. (4) The establishment of the Military Human Rights office should urgently be backed by the appointment of a Military Human Rights adviser. The terms of reference of the office and the adviser must be made public. In addition efforts should be made to ensure that the office is accessible to civil society organisations and complainants. (5). The reform of the military justice system is both essential and long-overdue While the focus of criticism has been the application of human rights to combat and conflict zones, there have been less focus on the broader legal framework of the military justice system. (5.1) The justice delivery system in the armed forces ought to adopt a procedure that is not only open and objective, but also strives towards a liberal interpretation of the principles of natural justice. Though the primary object of the system of military justice must always be to maintain discipline within the organisation, it must be focused on organisational effectiveness rather than on punishing or protecting individual actions  Law Enforcement Agencies and Human Rights The obligation to respect human rights by all law enforcement agencies, including the police, prisons, security institutions, etc. is contained in Chapter 4 of the Constitution, the Police Act and other legislations or enabling national laws. In addition, all law enforcement agents have the obligation to respect the provisions of the various human rights and humanitarian laws to which Nigeria is a signatory. In pursuance of this, all law enforcement outfits have established human rights desks for the purpose of human rights training taught in the law enforcement agencies institutions as well as monitoring activities of the law enforcement agents to ensure that they comply with acceptable human rights standards.  Free Legal Advice Scheme at Police Stations 35

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