Moms tell of the anguish they went through trying to get their innocent sons freed from military detention and how so-called soldiers and lawyers took advantage of them.

Fraudsters are taking advantage of distraught mothers, whose sons were wrongly arrested during the peak of the insurgency in Borno State, by promising to get their loved ones released from military detention – for a small fortune.

Some of the women and their families have paid more than a million naira to get their sons, husbands, fathers, brothers or relatives freed – but it has all been in vain.

Most of the men were arrested by military police at the peak of the insurgency, which started in Borno State in 2009.

Most were detained because they were suspected of having ties with the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram.

The men have been held without trial in Giwa Barracks, a military detention centre in Maiduguri, and in other prison facilities.

For years human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have accused the military of mistreating and torturing prisoners, as well as running Giwa Barracks “inhumanely”.

Many of the women – who claim their relatives are innocent and were wrongly arrested – are members of the Jire Dole Foundation, a network of survivors and relatives of people who went missing during the insurgency. It was established by, and works under the auspices of, the Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development, which has been helping women to get their innocent relatives released.

In recent months, hundreds of detainees have been released after finally appearing in the Federal High Court in Maiduguri, which ruled that there was no evidence they committed any crimes or had any links to the JAS.

But, according to relatives, there are still hundreds in detention.

And the women – wives, mothers, sisters and daughters – are desperate to get their men back home. So desperate, in fact, that many have fallen prey to fraudsters who promise – for a tidy sum – to get their loved ones released but disappear once they have pocketed the cash.

Hajjagana Suleiman told RNI that her son was detained 14 years ago.

“My son, Mustapha Abdulkarim, was taken into custody at a mosque in the Ngarannam area of Maiduguri. He was 23 and a businessman. His wife was six weeks pregnant at the time.

“I reached out to every contact I could find until I was able to see him in prison one day. He just kept saying, ‘Mom, please find me a way out, I am going through a lot’.

“This broke my heart. I immediately went to speak to a lawyer. He told me to open a file. He said it would cost ₦25,000 and another ₦25,000 for transportation.

“Since my only goal at that moment was to get my son released, I did what he told me. But the lawyer kept asking me for more money. I ended up paying between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000 several more times.

“Eventually, the lawyer told me to go to Yobe State, where my son would be brought to me after he was released. He told me to get there as soon as I could.

“Even though I was at work, I stopped what I was doing and left. Once I got to the town, I could not reach the lawyer. He had turned off his phone. It was only once I had returned home that I realised I was a victim of fraud.

“In total I have spent at least ₦2 million to get my son home. I even sold all my gold jewellery.”

Hajjagana said she and her family were not aware that the lawyer and the security officers were associated and had planned the fraud together.

“Afterwards it became clear that they invented this purely for financial gain. We are helpless to fight them. All I could do was walk away from them.

“I’m sick and tired of these fraudsters with their false promises. The whole process has been exhausting.”

Fatima Hassan’s two sons have been missing for 11 years.

“At the peak of the insurgency soldiers on patrol arrested men whom they believed were linked to Boko Haram. They had no evidence and just arrested people arbitrarily.

“One Sunday morning, they stormed into my home in Maiduguri’s Gwange area and took two of my children, Ibrahim Mohammed Goni, a 35-year-old father of three, and Musa Mohammed Goni, a 28-year-old single man.

“Musa Mohammed graduated from Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri and Ibrahim Mohammed worked at Fidelity Bank.

“Soon after they were arrested, I went to the barracks to report that my children were innocent and had been wrongly detained. One of the soldiers told us to get a lawyer, draft a letter claiming their innocence, print out a bank statement and attach a payment of ₦100,000.. We did not even think twice. We immediately did as we were instructed.

“The lawyer refused to hand over the money to the soldiers and the whole deal fell through. The soldiers even told me my children’s names would be added to the list of people classified as Boko Haram insurgents.

“We did not give up. We spoke to a different soldier after that who also said he would be able to get my sons released. This time, the management of Fidelity Bank helped to pay the sum of ₦250,000. This ended in disaster too. After handing over the money, we could not find the soldier. He disappeared.”

Fatima said all she had to show for her “disappointing” experiences was hypertension.

“Many parents have encountered the same problems. I am not the only one who has been left with nothing but illness and sadness.”

Muhammad Lawan Umaru, a lawyer, said the mothers’ stories were heartbreaking.

“The individuals involved were obviously not real military personnel nor lawyers – they were nothing but criminals. I advise the families to report these acts to the appropriate authorities, including the court. They might still be able to get justice.”

Rukaiya Ahmed Alibe