Amnesty International Exposes Nigerian Police And Army ''Torture Chambers''.

Amnesty International has released a document which shows that the Nigerian Police is guilty of torturing suspects in their custody.Just last week we at the National Human Rights Commission had a training session with the Nigeria Police Area F division in Ikeja where Human Rights Desk officers in the Police Gorce attended and we spoke to them about torture and how it is a violation of someone's right.The UN is very categorical on Torture as a form of violation.


According to Amnesty report on Torture an estimated number of 5,000 people detained since 2009 since military operations began against the armed group Boko Haram, many of
whom have been tortured or otherwise ill- treated.500 – interviews with torture survivors, detainees, their relatives, rights defenders and lawyers Amnesty International conducted during its research.

This goes far beyond the appalling torture and killing of suspected Boko Haram members. Across the country, the scope and severity of torture inflicted on Nigeria’s women, men and children by the authorities supposed to protect them is shocking to even
the most hardened human rights observer.

Abosede, a torture survivor says Torture and other ill-treatment in Nigeria is a routine occurrence in Nigeria,largely to extract “confessions” or as punishment for alleged crimes Hundreds of suspects in police and military custody across the country are being subjected to a range of physical and psychological torture or other ill- treatment. Security forces are able to act in a climate of impunity. This report reveals the experiences of former detainees who have been tortured in police and military custody and the government’s failure to prevent such violations or to bring suspected perpetrators to justice.

Nigeria’s police and military routinely torture women, men, and children  some as young as 12  using a wide range of methods including beatings, shootings and rape, Amnesty
International said in a new report published today.

“This goes far beyond the appalling torture and killing of suspected Boko Haram members. Across the country, the scope and severity of torture inflicted on Nigeria’s women, men and
children by the authorities supposed to protect them is shocking to even the most hardened human rights observer,” said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Research and 
Advocacy Director.“Torture is not even a criminal offence in Nigeria. The country’s parliament must immediately take this long overdue step and pass a law criminalizing torture. There is no excuse for further delay.” Compiled from hundreds of testimonies and evidence gathered over 10 years, the report exposes the institutionalized use of police torture chambers and routine abuses by the military in a country that prohibits torture in its
constitution but has yet to pass legislation outlawing the violation.

The report also reveals how most of those detained are held incommunicado – denied
access to the outside world, including lawyers, families and courts.
Torture has become such an integral part of policing in Nigeria that many police stations have an informal “Officer in Charge of Torture” or O/C Torture. They use an alarming array of techniques, including nail or tooth extractions, choking, electric shocks and sexual violence.
In one illustrative incident Abosede, aged 24, told Amnesty International how sickening police abuse left her with a permanent injury:one victim said “A policewoman took me to a small room, told me to remove everything I was wearing. She spread my legs wide and fired tear gas into my vagina… I was asked to confess that I was an armed robber… I was bleeding… up till now I still feel pain in my womb.”

Nigeria’s military is committing similar human rights violations, detaining thousands as they search for Boko Haram members. Mahmood, a 15 year old boy from Yobe state,
was arrested by soldiers with around 50 other people, mainly boys between 13 and 19 years old. He told Amnesty International that the military held him for three weeks, beat him repeatedly with their gun butts, batons and machetes, poured melting plastic on his back, made him walk and roll over broken bottles and forced him to watch other detainees being
extra-judicially executed. He was eventually released in April 2013.
Military in Yobe state even arrested and beat a 12 year old boy, poured alcohol on him, forced him to clean vomit with his bare hands and trod on him.
“Soldiers pick up hundreds of people as they search for those associated with Boko Haram, then torture suspects during a ‘screening’ process that resembles a medieval witch hunt,”
said Netsanet Belay. “Torture happens on this scale partly because no one, including in the chain of command, is being held accountable. Nigeria needs a radical nchange of approach, to suspend all officers against whom there are credible allegations of torture, to thoroughly investigate those allegations and to ensure that suspected torturers are brought to justice.” In most of the torture allegations against Nigerian state security forces documented by
Amnesty International, no proper investigations were carried out and no measures were taken to bring suspected perpetrators to justice.
When internal investigations within the police or the military do take place, the findings are not made public and the recommendations rarely implemented. Of the hundreds of cases researched by Amnesty International, not onen victim of torture or other ill-treatment was compensated or received other reparation from the Nigerian government.
The Nigerian government is aware of the problem and has set up at least five Presidential Committees and working groups over the last decade on reforming the criminal justice system and eradicating torture. However, the implementation of these
recommendations has been painfully slow. “Our message to the Nigerian authorities today is clear – criminalize torture, end incommunicado detention and fully investigate allegations of abuse,” Netsanet Belay said.
“That would mark an important first step towards ending this abhorrent practice. It’s high time the Nigerian authorities show they can be taken seriously on this issue.”Country: Nigeria Region: Africa Campaign.

Report culled from Amnesty International website
Picture Credit
© Chijioke Ugwu Clement.