Amnesty International (AI) has made shocking claims in its latest
report that 11 children under the age of six, including four babies,
were among 149 people who have allegedly died this year. The report
states that the Nigerian Army tortured some of the children to death in
very horrendous circumstances in Giwa Barracks detention centre in
Maiduguri, Borno State.
The AI in its briefing on Tuesday titled: ‘If you see it, you will cry: Life and death in Giwa barracks,’ said
that evidence gathered through interviews with former detainees and
eyewitnesses, supported by video and photos, shows many detainees may
have died from disease, hunger, dehydration, and gunshots wounds.
AI revealed further that it has satellite imagery which corroborates claims and testimonies from witnesses.
According to the AI’s Research and Advocacy Director for Africa, Mr. Netsanet Belay: “The
discovery that babies and young children have died in appalling
conditions in military detention is both harrowing and horrifying. We
have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the high death rate of detainees
in Giwa barracks but these findings show that, for both adults and
children, it remains a place of death.
“There can be no excuses and no delay. The detention facilities
in Giwa barracks must be immediately closed and all detainees released
or transferred to civilian authorities. The government must urgently
introduce systems to ensure the safety and well-being of children
released from detention.”
In a shocking revelation, AI claims that around 1,200 people are
currently detained at Giwa barracks in overcrowded and unsanitary
conditions. The group further revealed that many were arbitrarily
rounded up during mass arrests, often with no evidence against them,
alleging that once inside the barracks, they are incarcerated without
access to the outside world or trial.
“At least 12 children have died in Giwa barracks since
February. Children under five years old, including babies, have been
held in three overcrowded women’s cells. In the last year, there has
been a ten-fold increase in the number of detainees in these cells
rising from 25 in 2015 to 250 in early 2016. Unsanitary conditions mean
that disease is rife. Amnesty International understands that there were
around 20 babies and children under five in each of the three cells,” AI stated.
It also claimed that “at least 136 men had died in detention in Giwa in 2016 including 28 men who appeared to have gunshot wounds.”
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