Amnesty International To Release Report On Use Of Torture In Nigeria

Amnesty International (AI) has for long criticised the Nigerian Army’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, alleging infringement of human rights in the soldiers’ activities in the country.

AI now says a report that will prove their claims is ready. The report, which the human rights group said would demonstrate widespread use of torture of the army will be released in ‎Nigeria on 18th September, 2014.

The report titled, “Welcome to hell fire” chronicled torture and other ill-treatment in Nigeria.

“Amnesty International will highlight in its upcoming report “Welcome to hell fire”: Torture and other ill-treatment in Nigeria,” said Max Tucker, AI’s Global Campaigns and Thematic Issues Press‎ Officer.

According to Tucker, torture in Nigeria was so prevalent that it was not even classified as a criminal offence in the country.

He stated that the report details an alarming array of torture techniques used against hundreds of Boko Haram suspects in the country as Nigeria’s military hunts for members of the armed group.

He said that use of torture was not restricted to the Nigerian Army alone as the “police force, plagued by endemic corruption and a lack of accountability, is also found to torture ordinary criminal suspects on an industrial scale – to extract a confession, extort money, or to target s*x workers.”

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