Over 1,000 died in Nigerian prisons – Amnesty

Nearly 1,000 people, mostly suspected Islamist militants,
died in Nigerian jails in the first half of this year, Amnesty
International has said.



Amnesty said some of the 950 victims were suspected to
have been executed but many died because of the harsh,
overcrowded conditions of the jails.
Some starved to death. Others died after being shot or
badly beaten then getting no medical attention.

"The evidence we've gathered suggested that hundreds of
people died in military custody in 2013 alone. This is a
staggeringly high figure that requires urgent action by the
Nigerian government," Reuters quoted Lucy Freeman,
Amnesty International's deputy Africa director, as saying in
a statement.

Military spokesman, Brigadier General Chris Olukolade, said
the army had not yet seen the report but would respond
when it became available to them.

The government's habitual position is that detainees are well
treated and rare cases of abuse dealt with.

A four-year-old insurgency waged by Islamist sect Boko
Haram, aiming to revive a medieval Islamic empire in
Nigeria's largely Muslim northeast, has killed thousands and
brought a heavy military presence across the region.

Residents of affected areas, as well as numerous human
rights groups, have long accused the Nigerian military of
carrying out summary executions of Boko Haram suspects
and others – a charge it always denies.

Privately, security officials admit such abuses are more
widespread but see them as a reaction to an enemy whose
vicious guerrilla tactics create a climate of fear.