29 Children, 211 others die in Military cells in Nigeria; Army killed 177 Pro-Biafra agitators in 2016 - Amnesty
Amnesty International (AI) has reported that a total of 240 people, including children and babies, died in military cells in Maiduguri, Borno State in 2016.
Also, it said a military clampdown on agitators for Biafra resulted in 177 deaths in the South-east last year.
In its 2016/17 report released yesterday, the group said mass arrests of
people fleeing Boko Haram led to overcrowding in military detention
facilities.
“The report said: “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.”
On the military’s action against the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB), the report said the group lost over 177 members between January
and February 2016.
Amnesty reported: “The military was deployed in 30 out of Nigeria’s 36
states and in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja where they
performed routine policing functions, including responding to
non-violent demonstrations. The military deployment to police public
gatherings contributed to the number of extrajudicial executions and
unlawful killings.
“Since January, in response to the continued agitation by pro-Biafra
campaigners, security forces arbitrarily arrested and killed, at least,
100 members and supporters of the group, Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB). Some of those arrested were subjected to enforced disappearance.
“On February 9, soldiers and police officers shot at about 200 IPOB
members, who had gathered for a prayer meeting at the National High
School in Aba, Abia State. Video footage showed soldiers shooting at
peaceful and unarmed IPOB members; at least, 17 people were killed and
scores injured.”
The group also said no fewer than 60 people were killed in a joint
security operation carried out by the Army, Police, Department of State
Security (DSS) and Navy. “Pro-Biafra campaigners had gathered to
celebrate Biafra Remembrance Day, in Onitsha (Anambra State). No
investigation into these killings had been initiated by the end of the
year.”
AI also noted in its report that Boko Haram’s activities affected, at
least, 14.8 million people, even after the military seized control of
its base in Sambisa, Borno State.
“About 195 Chibok schoolgirls remained missing,” at the end of 2016, AI said in its report.
Speaking specifically on internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the
North East, AI said there were, “at least, two million IDPs in Northern
Nigeria; 80 per cent of them lived in host communities, while the
remainder lived in camps. The camps in Maiduguri remained overcrowded,
with inadequate access to food, clean water and sanitation.
“In the so-called inaccessible territories in Borno State, tens of
thousands of IDPs were held in camps under armed guard by the Nigerian
military and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a state-sponsored
civilian militia formed to fight Boko Haram. Most of the IDPs were not
allowed to leave the camps and did not receive adequate food, water or
medical care.
“Thousands of people have died in these camps due to severe
malnutrition. In June, in a guarded camp in Bama, Borno State, the NGO
Médecins Sans Frontières reported over 1, 200 bodies had been buried
within the past year.”
Amnesty said the International Criminal Court (ICC) was considering
eight human rights cases in Nigeria, with the view to determining
whether they would be investigated.
“In its November preliminary report, the Office of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it will continue its
analysis of any new allegations of crimes committed in Nigeria and its
assessment of admissibility of the eight potential cases identified in
2015, in order to reach a decision on whether the criteria for opening
an investigation are met,” the report said.
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