Amnesty International has claimed that at least 10,000 individuals have died in the custody of the Nigerian Army since the start of the Boko Haram conflict in the northeast.
The organization’s Country Director, Isa Sanusi, made this revelation during a briefing in Maiduguri and accused both Boko Haram and the military of committing numerous abuses.
Sanusi stated that military personnel had violated rules of engagement while carrying out operations in the region and expressed regret that the military denied any involvement in atrocities, despite being presented with Amnesty’s report before it was made public.
He also announced that Amnesty International had filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, seeking accountability for alleged crimes against humanity in the northeast.
He also unveiled a 144-page report, titled “Help Us Build Our Lives,” Girls Survivors of Boko Haram and Military Abuses in North-east Nigeria,”
“Attacks on schools, teachers and students, including their abduction, have been committed so as to prevent people, especially children, from receiving what Boko Haram considers a ‘Western’ education.
“Boko Haram is generally translated from Hausa as ‘Western education is forbidden. Boko Haram has committed war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law, including murder; attacks on civilians and civilian objects; indiscriminate attacks; disproportionate attacks; torture; cruel treatment; conscription (including through abductions) and use of child soldiers under the age of 15; attacks on buildings dedicated to education,” the report said.
“Consequently, in a series of reports since 2015, Amnesty International has concluded that Boko Haram members should also be investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder; enslavement; imprisonment; torture; rape; sexual slavery; sexual violence; persecution; and forced marriage as “other inhumane acts,” the report said.
According to the report, in response to the military atrocities in its operations against the armed group (Boko Haram) “the Nigerian military has often treated anyone in, or coming out of Boko Haram-controlled areas as, at minimum, a suspected Boko Haram member.
“Amnesty International has documented war crimes by government forces, including intentional attacks against the civilian population; indiscriminate attacks that have killed or injured civilians; extrajudicial executions, which also constitute the war crime of murder; torture; cruel treatment; rape; and sexual violence.
“In addition, Amnesty International believes that individuals in the Nigerian military may have committed the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; imprisonment; torture; rape; enforced disappearance; and gender-based persecution, after having concluded in a 2015 report that the Nigerian military likely had a policy to attack a civilian population and had done so in a widespread and systematic nature.
“At least 10,000 people have died in military custody since the conflict in north-east Nigeria began.”
The report also acknowledged that Nigerian authorities have made some improvements in recent years, particularly in reducing the arbitrary detention of individuals, including women and children, suspected of ties to Boko Haram.
However, the humanitarian organization noted that the Nigerian government has failed to investigate and prosecute individuals accused of committing crimes under international law.
“For the last decade, Boko Haram has devastated the lives of people across north-east Nigeria, treating anyone in government-controlled areas as the ‘enemy’, often making no effort to distinguish civilians from Nigerian forces,” the report added.