Standup9ja - 240 Boko
Haram Suspects Including 29 Children Died In Giwa Barracks – Amnesty
International
Amnesty
International has accused the Nigerian military of human rights abuses, saying
that it arbitrarily detained 240 Boko Haram suspects, including 29 children at
Giwa Barracks who later died in overcrowded cells.
The
international group made this known in Abuja while presenting its annual report
on Nigeria for the year 2016.
Chairman,
Board of Amnesty International (Nigeria), Auwal Rafsanjani, disclosed that
government arrested and detained 10 journalists and bloggers in 2016 without
trial.
According to the report, “The past year has
seen a disturbing rise in arrests and intimidation of media professionals and
activists in Nigeria. At least 10 journalists and bloggers were arrested in
2016, some for alleged connections to Book Haram, in a crackdown that appears
to have been orchestrated to suffocate freedom of expression.
“In August, Abubakar Usman, a blogger, was
arrested in Abuja, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
accused him of contravening the Cyber Crimes Act. The commission did not point
out the specific provisions the blogger had contravened.
“In January, members of the Nigerian Army
raided the editorial offices of Premium Times and arrested journalists- Dapo
Olunrunyomi and Evelyn Okaku. They were subsequently released but the move sent
a clear message to Nigerians that the government was out to intimidate
journalists and the media.
“The military arbitrarily arrested
thousands of young men, women and children who fled to the safety of recaptured
towns, including Banki and Bama, Borno state. These arrests were largely based
on random profiling of men, especially young men, rather than on reasonable
suspicion of having committed a recognizably criminal offence.
“In most cases, the arrests were made
without adequate investigation. Other people were arbitrarily arrested as they
attempted to flee from Boko Haram. Those detained by the military had no access
to their families or lawyers and were not brought before a court. More than
1,500 detainees were released throughout the year.
“The mass arrests by the military of people
fleeing Boko Haram led to overcrowding in military detention facilities. At the
military detention facility at Giwa barracks, Maiduguri, cells were
overcrowded. Diseases, dehydration and starvation was rife.
“At least 240 detainees died during the
year. Bodies were secretly buried in Maiduguri’s cemetery by the Borno State
environmental protection agency staff. Among the dead were at least 29 children
and babies, aged between newborn and five years.
“At Giwa barracks, children under five were
detained in three overcrowded and insanitary women’s cells, alongside at least
250 women and teenage girls per cell. Some children were born in detention.”
Reacting
swiftly to the allegations, the Defense Headquarters yesterday denied the
accusations by Amnesty International, saying its report was filled with
falsehood.
Director of
Defence Information, Brig Gen Rabe Abubakar said the report was another
premeditated attempt by AI to bring disrepute to the Nigerian military.
His words: “The report published by the
Amnesty International (AI) alleging death of 240 people including babies in
Borno and 177 pro-Biafran agitators was yet another in its series of spurious
fabrications aimed at tarnishing the good image of the Nigerian military.
“Without mincing words, the allegations
contained in the said report are not only inconceivable, but have no place in
the Nigerian military.
“The report is another contrived lie
orchestrated to blackmail and ridicule the Nigerian Armed Forces which they
have unsuccessfully tried to do in the past.
“It is on record that Amnesty International
embarked on a series of such false allegations against the Nigerian military
and other security forces as far back as the inception of the military action
against terrorists in the North East.
“Amnesty International only encourages the
activities of non-state actors who take up arms against the state, killing,
maiming and destroying public property, and always accuses the security forces
who are sacrificing everything to restore peace and normalcy.”
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