Nigeria
Practice Relating to Rule 50. Destruction and Seizure of Property of an Adversary
Nigeria’s Operational Code of Conduct (1967) gives the following directive: “No property, building, etc. will be destroyed maliciously.”
Nigeria’s Military Manual (1994) states: “Destruction should be limited to what a particular mission requires.”
The manual adds that it is prohibited “to destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessity of war”.
Nigeria’s Manual on the Laws of War states:
As a rule, extensive destruction of property on enemy territory, whether it is the property of the state or the property of individuals, is forbidden. Destruction is permitted only in case of military necessity.
The manual also states that grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions are considered serious war crimes, including “extensive destruction and confiscation of property not justified by military necessity”.
Nigeria’s Soldiers’ Code of Conduct states: “Destruction should be limited to what the particular mission requires.”
The Code of Conduct is also prohibited “to destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war”.
Nigeria’s Geneva Conventions Act (1960) punishes any person who “whether in or outside the Federation, … whatever his nationality, commits, or aids, abets or procures any other person to commit any such grave breach of any of the [1949 Geneva] Conventions”.