Children reportedly detained by the Nigerian
military in recent years have recounted how the security agencies kept them in
horrible condition.
In a recent report released by Human Rights Watch
(HRW), the children spoke of how they were maltreated and some of their peers
lost their lives.
The report detailed how about 3,600 of the children were reportedly held in
military facilities in the north-east where the Boko Haram war is being fought.
Most of them are said to be held in Maiduguri,
Borno state capital, for suspected involvement with Boko Haram insurgents,
although the military denied the claim.
Some of the children, now released, narrated how
they watched their peers die in custody.
Abdulrahman, 16, reportedly spent six months in
the adult cell before he was transferred to the children’s cell “for two more
years.”
“I saw people die in both cells. In the adult
cell many people died, I can’t say the number. In the children’s cell I saw
about 10 deaths,” he said.
“It was during the hot season, they were in
distress. They carried them to the hospital but they died. Some died in the
cell and soldiers came to carry their corpse.”
Saeed, aged 17, said he was detained in Banki,
Borno, and maltreated during interrogation, and that “some people had their
hands broken and suffered severe injuries from the beatings.”
“They asked me if I was a member of Boko Haram
and beat me up when I said no. They tied my hands and legs and hung me to a
tree and continued to flog me. They flogged me and left me tied to the tree
from morning till evening,” he added.
“Members of the CJTF did the beating but the
soldiers were there. They were working together. They shot some people and even
beat others to death with sticks during interrogation. One person from my
village was killed during the interrogation.”
The teenager also said there were no toilets in
their cells, adding: “We had buckets in the cells. One for feces and one for
urine. People had to use them in full view of others, and it smelled badly.
“They were emptied once every day. We suffered
this for three or four months until the Red Cross intervened by building a
toilet inside the room and then put a wall to separate the toilet for some
privacy.”
The children interviewed further narrated tales
of “severe overcrowding” in their cells.
“We were so close you couldn’t put one finger
between one person and the next,” a 15 year-old child whose name was not given
said.
Below is the
video of the children narrating their experience as published by HRW:
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