The UN rights chief,  Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, on Friday condemned the human rights infractions by both the Nigerian military and Boko Haram insurgents and called on the newly sworn in president, Muhammadu Buhari, to ensure justice is done.

He said based on reports gathered, civilians in northeastern Nigeria have been enduring horrifying acts of cruelty and violence by Boko Haram.

He said these also included wanton killings, summary executions, forced participation in military operations –- including the use of children to detonate bombs, forced labour, forced marriage and sexual violence, including rape perpetrated by the sect.

Zeid also said there were equally alarming reports of flagrant violations by the Nigerian military in its crackdown against the group.

He called on Buhari to take measures to bring to justice perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses, whether non-state or state actors.

Zeid also said that there were documented accounts of how Boko Haram amputated the hands of children suspected of theft and also carried out gruelsome acts of reprimands on residents.

He also said that there were reports of people being detained by the military for up to five days without food or water for having suspected links to the sect.

“We have continued to receive reports of arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and summary executions as well as of a failure to ensure the protection of civilians during counter-insurgency operations,” he said.

The Boko Haram’s insurgency has killed at least 15,000 people since 2009 but in recent times the sect has been largely decimated due to the activities of a regional force comprising nations from West Africa.