The mothers and wives of disappeared and missing young men in Maiduguri have observed the Eighth Anniversary of the Giwa Barracks attacks in broad daylight on 14 March 2014 by Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wati Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), commonly referred to as Boko Haram.

Hundreds of thousands of men and boys have been arrested by the military according to Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development n Maiduguri and surrounding towns in Borno state northeastern Nigeria since 2011, allegedly for being members of Boko Haram. Many have gone missing or are feared to have died while in Giwa Barracks – a notorious detention facility in Maiduguri.

On the 14th of March 2014, JAS broke into Giwa Barracks and freed their members.

Amnesty International said 600 people were killed by the Nigerian army within and outside the barracks shortly after the attack by JAS – allegations always denied by the military.

In its 2016 report, Amnesty described Giwa Barracks as a “place of death” and called for its immediate closure.

The military said the killings by the military within and outside the barracks during and after the attack would be investigated, but eight years on, there still neither information nor justice for the survivors or for the victims’ relation.

Program realised and presented by Maman Mahamood