Those “Boko Haram suspects” in Abia

It’s hard to accurately quote the number of people murdered and the cost of property destroyed by Boko Haram. The group has for the past two months held on to innocent Chibok School girls it has kidnapped and continues to terrorise people in the North Eastern part of the country, and Bornu State in particular. […]

It’s hard to accurately quote the number of people murdered and the cost of property destroyed by Boko Haram. The group has for the past two months held on to innocent Chibok School girls it has kidnapped and continues to terrorise people in the North Eastern part of the country, and Bornu State in particular. Every day, people are reported killed, their homes burnt, their animals stolen and children kidnapped on account of the murderous action of Boko Haram. In addition to the thousands of civilians callously killed by Boko Haram, scores of our security forces, particularly the army have also fallen victims of their heinous actions. How long will this continue?
 Amidst this bloodletting, there is palpable fear now that the Boko Haram terrorism may spread to other parts of the country. The strings of bombing on a Madalla church, Karu motor park, the United Nations building and Police headquarters, Abuja, have all been blamed on Boko Haram. It’s also feared that Boko Haram has developed the capability to strike anywhere in the country. In the wake of its brutal activities, Boko Haram has caused deep-seated fears about the sustainability of Nigeria’s delicate ethnic balance and religious tolerance.
Many Nigerians are now bewildered by the increasing ethnic and religious tension gripping the country, some of this caused by the ugly profiling of people from the Northern part of the country. Many Muslims who sport beards and wear kaftans and head down South in groups in search of livelihood have reported being harassed or humiliated and regarded as Boko Haram suspects. In January this year, 300 innocent traders from the North were detained around Rivers State on suspicion that they belonged to Boko Haram. Also, 84 apprentices from Katsina were returned home from Imo State and labelled security risk. Earlier in January 2012, 25 hunters from Zamfara State were arrested and detained for one month when 19 hunting rifles were discovered on them during an expedition. They too were suspected of having links with Boko Haram.
At issue, currently, is the arrest and detention in Asa Military Barracks, Abia State, of 486 Northern Nigerian traders. The traders, allegedly travelling in the night in a convoy of buses, were apprehended last week on suspicion that they are Boko Haram members heading south to carry out terrorist attacks. Since then, this sensational arrest has added to the mistrust among Nigerians and heightened ethnic antagonism.
It was the Commissioner for Information and the Press Secretary to the Abia State Governor who first broke the news of the arrest of the 486 traders. As the days went by, important questions have agitated the minds of those following this worrisome development. Were arms found on these Boko Haram suspects? What evidence is there that they have any link to Boko Haram? How long does it take to conduct a successful investigation and determine the culpability of these people in the Boko Haram evil? Are they going to be charged to court? Indeed, do current Nigerian laws grant anyone the permission to hold, in sub-human conditions, people being investigated for involvement in crime? Even if they are convicted criminals, aren’t they entitled to better holding conditions?
Nigerian laws presume accused persons innocent until they’re proven guilty; isn’t it possible to improve the conditions of those detained at the Asa Barracks pending the time the state releases or charges them to court? Would we wish for ourselves the same kind of situation if roles were to be reversed? Is it healthy to begin to accuse people of being Boko Haram suspects based on their looks and what they wear or because they travel by night in groups? Are the 486 properly fed? Are the sanitary conditions hazard-free, because there are reports that some of the detainees have fallen sick? Do the sick have access to proper medical attention? Really, is there any compelling reason to hold these citizens for more than one week? What impact does the detention of the 486 have on ethnic harmony?
Even more ominous, a dele-gation from Kano was prevented from seeing the 486 persons. The Kano delegation, led by Commis-sioner for Special Duties, Brigadier-General Idris Bello Dambazau (rtd), was probably luckier; a group of four persons from the Northern traders’ leadership in the South that earlier went to see the condition of the 486 was said to have been detained. Have the democratic rights of these suspects and their sympathisers been suspended already?
It is up to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the civil society organisations and human rights lawyers to demand access to the 486 in order to ensure that their humanity is respected. Of course, if any of the detainees genuinely has questions to answer regarding acts of terrorism, the law should take its course. This situation doesn’t detract from the valiant efforts being made by our security personnel to curb the spread of terrorism in our country. The truth is that the vast majority of the masses of Northern Nigeria abhor violence of any sort. But the government and its security organs have a duty to guard against the increasing profiling of our people and branding them as suspects for what they may not be responsible for.
Those who broke the news of the arrest also owe us explanation on developments concerning the 486, especially those among them who are not Boko Haram ‘kingpins’. In the meantime, all lovers of freedom cannot but feel for the 486, who’ve now been held for more than one week in circumstances that are not dignifying.