New Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, salutes his supporters during his Inauguration in Abuja, Nigeria, Friday, May 29, 2015.

New Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, salutes his supporters during his Inauguration in Abuja, Nigeria, Friday, May 29, 2015. Sunday Alamba/AP

Boko Haram and Nigeria's Army Are in a Human Rights Abuse Feedback Loop

Just as the White House wants to escalate its role in Nigeria's war with Boko Haram, Amnesty International says Abuja's army has a disturbing abundance of human rights abuses all its own.

A scathing report from Amnesty International claims to have unearthed a culture of human rights abuses by the Nigerian Army against Boko Haram suspects and civilians alike that will put newly sworn-in president Muhammadu Buhari under intense scrutiny. It will severely test his loyalty to the armed forces, where he spent most of his career, just as the Islamist militants resume their terror attacks.

Investigations and interviews with over four hundred victims and eyewitnesses since 2011 by the human rights organization have revealed the Nigerian army may have committed war crimes in its operations in northern Nigeria.

Amnesty reports that 7,000 young men and boys as young as nine, died in military detention through starvation, suffocation and  torture, and 1,200 more people were extrajudicially killed. Hundreds of detainees were packed in small cells, where diseases like Cholera were rife, with many dying from starvation and dehydration. In 2013, over 4,700 bodies were taken to a mortuary from a military detention center. A statement backed up by eyewitness evidence contained in the 133-page document.

The report comes at a time when recently inaugurated president Muhammadu Buhari is under enormous pressure from an electorate with high expectations to deliver on his promises to end the insurgency which has claimed over 20,000 lives in the northeast of Nigeria and displaced as many as a million people.

Buhari is a former military chief who is now commander in chief of the Nigerian army. The Amnesty allegations have intensified questions on whether Buhari will punish working commanders such as the chief of army staff and chief of defense who, according to the report, “were regularly informed of operations conducted in northeast Nigeria.” (The ministry of defence denied this allegation in a widely circulated press release titled “Amnesty International report intended to blackmail the Nigerian military.”

Buhari, in his inauguration speech last Friday, promised to take a strong stance against abuses in the army. In response to the report he “assured that his administration will study the document and act appropriately.”

Boko Haram is back

Since May 29, Boko Haram have carried out almost daily attacks in northeast Nigeria, mainly on the city of Maiduguri, Borno state, the birthplace of the Islamist group dashing any hopes that there would be an easing of tension with a new government in place. It’s particularly significant because Buhari tipped his hand in his inauguration speech saying he was moving the anti-insurgency command center to Maiduguri, from the capital city Abuja.

In the weeks leading up to Buhari taking the reins, the Council of Foreign Relations’  National Security Tracker , a data visualization mapping Boko Haram killings in Nigeria, recorded a decline in deaths mirroring the general hopes of Nigerians that the insurgents were slowing down. But that has changed.

More than 50 people have been killed in Maiduguri since last Friday, reports the Associated Press. It began with a suicide bombing that killed 26 people at a mosque, followed by an overnight rocket-propelled-grenade attack in a residential area. On Tuesday, there was a suicide bombing at a cattle abattoir; the following day, a blast at a military checkpoint.

“For four days now, we have experienced bomb attacks” said Koli, 28, a security man and resident of Maidugri who was reluctant to give his full name. “People are afraid to go to crowded areas such as markets and bus stops, but people are going about their business.”

Though the mood is tense in the city, people like Koli have no choice but to carry on with their normal routines. “In this town, if you don’t work you don’t eat,” he said.

And with a new bomb blast at a local night market on Thursday evening in Yola in the northeast Adamawa State, it now appears Boko Haram is building back up to full-scale regular attacks. The blast killed 33 people and injured another 21, according to the local Red Cross.

The bomb was believed to have gone off at 7:28 p.m. local time and appears to be a suicide attack.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.