Amnesty’s charges are unproven, but…

On Wednesday last week, Amnesty International released a report in which it described the Giwa Barracks detention centre in Maiduguri, Borno State as “a place of death” which must be shut down immediately. Beside calls for “independent and impartial investigations into evidence of war crimes committed by the military in north-east Nigeria”, Amnesty also made […]

On Wednesday last week, Amnesty International released a report in which it described the Giwa Barracks detention centre in Maiduguri, Borno State as “a place of death” which must be shut down immediately. Beside calls for “independent and impartial investigations into evidence of war crimes committed by the military in north-east Nigeria”, Amnesty also made case for release or transfer to civilian authorities of all those detained in the barracks.
Before 2009, the Giwa Barracks was actually a conventional military facility which became a detention centre at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, where hundreds of suspected militants were kept. The suspects were mostly arrested in the course of mop up exercises by military authorities. All kinds of people, including children and nursing mothers who were found in or around Boko Haram enclaves were picked up and kept here.
In the heart rending report posted on its website, Amnesty International alleged that 149 detainees, including children, had died in Giwa Barracks between January and April this year. It said “This represents a significant increase in the rate of deaths in the barracks compared with the second half of 2015. Among the dead were at least 12 children and babies, including two girls of approximately two years and five years old, and the others, all boys, were aged five months, one year (four boys), two years, three years, four years, five years and one boy of approximately 15 years.” Amnesty blamed the deaths on “inhuman conditions in the detention cells, communicable diseases and malnutrition.”
The report has generated heated arguments between the Amnesty and Nigerian military authorities.  It is worrisome to begin with that Amnesty admitted that its report was based on “unverified testimonies” of eyewitnesses who claimed to be former detainees in the Giwa Barracks. These unverified charges are made at a time when the Nigerian military has recorded considerable gains against Boko Haram in a war that has consumed over 20,000 lives, displaced two million people and inflicted billions of naira in property damage.
While some former detainees may be telling the truth, some others could exaggerate their experiences or base them on hearsay. Nigerian military authorities had released hundreds of suspects in the past two years who were found to be innocent. Defence Headquarters has dismissed Amnesty’s claims. In a statement signed by its spokesman Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, DHQ said the accusation comes “as a surprise and shock” because Amnesty International had accessed the Giwa Barracks’ facilities and made had recommendations which were implemented. However, Amnesty International said last on Friday that it was denied access to Giwa Barracks to obtain first hand information after making several requests to the Chief of Army Staff, Attorney General, National Security Advisor and Chief of Defense Staff.  Amnesty International also rejected DHQ’s dismissal of its findings, saying its report was based on verified witness accounts, including 15 interviews conducted by phone with former detainees, their relatives, eyewitnesses, human rights activists, and medical professionals. It said it had 17 photos and videos showing bodies of detainees deposited at a mortuary by soldiers from Giwa barracks which were analysed by Amnesty International staff and an independent forensics expert.
We can only say at this point that whereas Amnesty’s charges in this particular case are not proven, allegations of rights abuses against our military are not new in the course of the Boko Haram. While we appreciate that this is a totally unconventional war for which the military was not entirely prepared and Boko Haram is the most unscrupulous of enemies, we have always encouraged our military to rise to the occasion and protect the rights of innocents in this unfortunate war.
This is necessary not because of the concern of foreign agencies and governments. Winning the war against Boko Haram requires the full cooperation of the community, which must see the military as its protector. We are confident that with the tremendous progress made in the war, the military will also gear up and combat all cases of human rights abuse.