Amnesty International has reported that at least 149 people, including children and babies, died in military detention at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, Borno State, between January and late April 2016 amid what the organisation described as extremely overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.
The human rights organisation made the disclosure in a report titled “If You See It, You Will Cry: Life and Death in Giwa Barracks,” which documented deaths, alleged ill-treatment and the conditions faced by detainees at the military detention facility during the period.
According to Amnesty, at least 12 babies and children died at the facility between February and April 2016. The organisation said the children included infants and young children, with witnesses reporting deaths involving children as young as five months old.
Amnesty also identified March 2016 as the deadliest month during the period under review, with 65 deaths recorded at the detention centre. The organisation said the scale of fatalities reflected the severe conditions under which detainees were being held.
The report attributed the likely causes of death to a combination of disease, hunger, dehydration, overcrowding and, in some cases, gunshot wounds. However, Amnesty stressed that the absence of proper investigations and autopsies meant that the precise causes of individual deaths could not be conclusively established.
The organisation said children under five, including babies, were held in overcrowded cells with women and teenage girls. It estimated that the number of detainees in the women’s section had increased sharply, creating conditions in which sanitation and access to adequate food and water became major concerns.
Accounts gathered by Amnesty from former detainees and witnesses described severe shortages of food and water, extreme heat and inadequate medical attention. One detained child reportedly described hunger, thirst and heat as the major problems in the facility, while another said the food provided was insufficient.
Amnesty further reported that some detainees had been arrested during mass security operations conducted in Borno State as part of the military campaign against Boko Haram. The organisation raised concerns about arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention without access to relatives, lawyers or judicial proceedings.
The report also alleged that bodies of deceased detainees were transferred from a mortuary in Maiduguri and subsequently buried in unmarked graves. Amnesty said witness accounts and satellite imagery of disturbed earth supported its concerns about the disposal of bodies.
The human rights organisation called for urgent action to prevent further deaths and urged the authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatalities. It also raised broader concerns about accountability for alleged human rights violations in military detention facilities.
The Nigerian military, however, rejected Amnesty International’s allegations at the time. Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman described the report as being “far from the truth,” according to contemporary reporting.
Subsequent reporting by the United States Department of State noted Amnesty’s findings and said the Nigerian military had denied them. The State Department also reported that the military later worked with UNICEF and, by October 2016, had released 876 children who had previously been detained at the facility.
Amnesty’s findings formed part of a wider body of documentation concerning deaths in military custody during Nigeria’s conflict with Boko Haram. The organisation had previously raised concerns about thousands of deaths in detention facilities in the northeast.
The Giwa Barracks findings therefore highlighted not only the immediate deaths recorded in early 2016, but also wider questions about detention practices, conditions of custody, access to medical care, judicial oversight and the protection of children held in security facilities.
