Amnesty International has documented numerous violations by government forces, including intentional attacks on civilians, indiscriminate killings, extrajudicial executions, torture and rape.

More than 10,000 people have died in military custody since the start of the “Boko Haram insurgency” in northeastern Nigeria in 2009.

Malam Isa Sanusi, the country director of Amnesty International, a global human rights organisation, made the disclosure at a press conference in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in Nigeria’s northeast, on Thursday, December 5.

He emphasised the urgent need for justice and accountability.

The organisation also accused the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly referred to a Boko Haram, of killing thousands of civilians during attacks on towns and villages.

“Boko Haram has committed war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

He highlighted the devastating toll of the 15-year conflict on civilians and urged the Nigerian government to address the widespread violations of human rights committed by both the military and JAS.

The organisation accused the military of treating individuals from “Boko Haram-controlled areas” as suspected insurgents, often with devastating consequences.

“The Nigerian military has often treated anyone coming in, or coming out of, Boko Haram-controlled areas as, at minimum, a suspected Boko Haram member.

“Amnesty International has documented numerous violations by government forces, including intentional attacks on civilians, indiscriminate killings, extrajudicial executions, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence,” Sanusi said.

“Achieving justice for those whose lives have been shattered by JAS and military operations is key to bringing the protracted conflict to an end.”

Sanusi told journalists that Amnesty International had filed a case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, alleging crimes against humanity committed in the northeastern region.

These include war crimes and widespread systemic abuses perpetrated by both JAS insurgents and Nigerian military forces.

“Amnesty International believes that individuals in the Nigerian military may have committed the crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, imprisonment, torture, rape, enforced disappearance and gender-based persecution.

“The organisation has documented war crimes by government forces, including intentional attacks against the civilian population; indiscriminate attacks that have killed or injured civilians; extrajudicial executions, which also constitute the war crime of murder, torture, cruel treatment, rape and sexual violence.

“At least 10,000 people have died in military custody since the conflict began.”

Amnesty also highlighted atrocities committed by JAS, including mass killings, widespread abductions, and attacks on schools to prevent education, particularly targeting girls and young women.

Sanusi said the group’s ideology of opposing “Western education” has led to brutal assaults on civilians and it has used children as soldiers and sex slaves.

He emphasised the urgent need for the Nigerian government to support the recovery of girls and young women who suffered from these atrocities, many of whom were abducted, forced into sexual slavery and subjected to violence. Many became pregnant by their captors.

“Attacks on schools, teachers and students, including their abduction, have been committed so as to prevent people, especially children, from receiving what Boko Haram considers a ‘Western’ education.

“Boko Haram is generally translated from Hausa as ‘Western education is forbidden’.”

Quoting from a report “Girls Survivors of Boko Haram and Military Abuses in North-east Nigeria”, Sanusi said: “Throughout the conflict, Boko Haram has committed war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law, including murder, attacks on civilians and civilian objects, indiscriminate attacks, disproportionate attacks, torture, cruel treatment, conscription – including through abductions –use of child soldiers under the age of 15, attacks on buildings dedicated to education, pillage, sexual slavery, rape and attacks on humanitarian workers.”

He said the Nigerian military often subjected these survivors to further mistreatment after their escape from JAS enclaves, including arbitrary detention and neglect.

“Our research shows that the experience of women is unique. For example, there are many girls who were abducted or trafficked and at the end of the day ended up with Boko Haram and they were forced into sex slavery, and many of them had kids with the insurgents.

“When they escaped from the Boko Haram enclave they ended up in the hands of the military and in some cases, they experienced another round of atrocities.

“So, the girls and young women in the northeast suffered horrific abuses in Boko Haram captivity and many survivors were arbitrarily detained and subsequently neglected by the Nigerian authorities.”

Sanusi said that Amnesty’s research had shown these girls wanted to rebuild their lives.

“Boko Haram use these young girls, they call them wives, and forcefully marry them, [and they are] subjected into many years of domestic slavery, sexual violence and forced pregnancy.

“In the course of our research we discovered that girls who tried to get contraceptives were severely punished by the insurgents. These are the things that we should never forget and we believe that the government should do something.

“The girls who escaped from the insurgents returned to the government-controlled areas. The crimes they endured had long-lasting consequences, specific to their ages and gender, including health implications, lack of access to education as well as stigma and rejection by their families and communities.”

Sanusi said many of these girls were called “Boko Haram wives” when they returned to their communities.

“That is stigmatisation,” he said.

He highlighted the long-lasting physical, psychological and social consequences faced by these survivors, including stigma, rejection by their communities and lack of access to education and healthcare.

Sanusi urged the Nigerian government to take responsibility for the recovery and reintegration of these victims and ensure that justice is served for the atrocities committed against them.

“Based on our research, despite some family unification efforts, the Nigerian government has largely failed to address their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration.

“This neglect is a serious issue which we are here to tell the government to address. We are calling on the Nigerian government to do the right thing and one of the right things they have to do is to make sure that they investigate and bring to justice all those accused of putting these girls through these atrocities.”

Sanusi observed that “the war against Boko Haram would soon come to an end, if justice is served on people whose lives have been shattered by Boko Haram and the military”.

Hajja Gana Suleiman, a leader of Jire Dole, a network of victims and relations of enforced disappearances, under the Allamin Foudation for Peace and Development, told RNI that apart form the 10,000 people who died in military custody, there were thousands more who were missing.

Most were innocent people who were falsely arrested and detained by the military, accused of being linked to JAS.

A report published last year by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said more than 25,000 people had been reported missing in Nigeria, including almost 14,000 children.

The report prompted HumAngle Media and News Lines Magazine to carry out a months-long joint investigation, published on September 18, 2023, into the missing people in Nigeria.

Their investigation revealed that the military and other security operatives – from the start of the insurgency in 2009 – helped to drive this crisis through a campaign of arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention, extrajudicial killings, mass burials and deliberate attempts to obscure their actions.

“The number of people who were arrested and detained falsely by the military is more than 10,000 based on records we have in our organisation’s archives,” said Hajja Gana.

“We don’t know whether they are still alive or not. We are still putting pressure on the government and the military to release the innocent detainees and inform people about those who died in their custody, so that their loved ones can get closure and have peace of mind.

“Many families, relatives, wives, mothers and sisters still don’t know the whereabouts of their loved ones. Some women have remarried; others still have some hope that their loved ones will return home.”

Fanna Bukar, a resident of Maiduguri, told RNI that she had not seen her husband for 12 years.

“He was arrested by the military and other security operatives in the Gamboru area of Maiduguri.

“My husband was riding his bicycle on his way home when the military arrested him. When we heard about his arrest, we went to military check points, police stations and barracks to try to secure his release – but it was all in vain.

“I know – and everyone else knows – that my husband is not Boko Haram but that didn’t stop the soldiers from arresting and wrongly detaining him without trial for almost 12 years now. We don’t know whether he is still alive or not.

“I have five children to look after. And it’s not just me. There are hundreds of women whose innocent husbands were arrested and detained by the military.

“So many women and children are suffering. This is pure injustice and it is a violation of human rights. We are pleading with the military to release all the innocent civilians detained for years without trial.”

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO