Amnesty International has leveled grave allegations against the Nigerian military, claiming that at least 10,000 people have died in military custody since the Boko Haram conflict began in the northeast.
Isa Sanusi, the organization’s Country Director, made these shocking assertions during a briefing in Maiduguri, accusing both Boko Haram and military personnel of serious human rights violations.
“Military personnel violated rules of engagement while carrying out their assignments in the region,” Sanusi declared.
The human rights organization unveiled a comprehensive 144-page report titled “Help Us Build Our Lives,” which details alleged atrocities committed by both Boko Haram and Nigerian military forces.
The report meticulously documents systematic abuses, including attacks on schools, teachers, and students.
“Boko Haram is generally translated from Hausa as ‘Western education is forbidden,'” the report noted, highlighting the terrorist group’s fundamental opposition to modern education.
The organization documented extensive war crimes, including murder, indiscriminate attacks, torture, and the conscription of child soldiers.
Sanusi revealed that Amnesty International has filed a case with the International Court of Justice at the Hague, seeking accountability for alleged crimes against humanity in the North-east.
The report highlighted the military’s approach of treating anyone from Boko Haram-controlled areas as a suspected terrorist.
“The Nigerian military has often treated anyone in, or coming out of Boko Haram-controlled areas as, at minimum, a suspected Boko Haram member,” the report stated.
Amnesty documented numerous war crimes, including extrajudicial executions, torture, rape, and sexual violence.
Despite the damning allegations, the report acknowledged some improvements by Nigerian authorities in recent years, particularly in reducing arbitrary detentions of women and children suspected of Boko Haram affiliations.
The humanitarian organization also criticized the Nigerian government’s failure to investigate and prosecute suspects of international crimes.
“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’,” the report stated.
Sanusi expressed particular regret about the military’s denial of involvement in atrocities, even after being served with Amnesty’s report before its public release
