B/Haram: Children dying in Giwa Barracks — Amnesty Int’l

 Amnesty International, AI, yesterday alleged that 149 detainees, including children, had died in Giwa Barracks, Maiduguri, Borno State, between January and April, where some Boko Haram suspects were detained. AI said in a report posted on its website that the deaths could have been as a result of inhuman conditions in the detention cells, communicable diseases and malnutrition.

  The organization admitted, however, that its report was based on unverified testimonies of eyewitnesses, who claimed to be former detainees in the barracks. It said, “Since January 2016 at least 149 people have died in the military detention facility at Giwa barracks, Maiduguri. Their bodies were deposited at a mortuary in Maiduguri and then buried in the city’s cemetery. ”This represents a significant increase in the rate of deaths in the barracks compared with the second half of 2015. Urgent action is needed to stop this trend and end the death of detainees in Giwa barracks. “Among the dead were at least 12 children and babies, including two girls of approximately two years and five years old, and the others, all boys, were aged five months, one year (four boys), two years, three years, four years, five years and one boy of approximately 15 years. Witnesses reported that all these have died in Giwa barracks between February and April 2016.